Christmas at Hyrule
by AkuDemyfan
Summary: The winter has come to Hyrule. Link defeated Ganondorf long ago and everything's calm but the Hero still keeps eye on the area. He also tries his best to make everything go well for Christmas while having only one wish for himself. A wish he's not sure if it ever would come true. Story updates once a day! NOT yaoi ! Taking part to 'Advent Calendar Challenge' by Aiko Isari.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Fixed few small mistakes.

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 1

The snow had come during the last few days. The Zoras had left a month ago to warmer waters. Their area was frozen each and every winter, so they couldn't stay at there. Most left to the sea at Termina but few moved further to meet their friends and family.

High at Death Mountain were the Gorons. Because the mountain was actually a volcano, the rock eating creatures had no worry over cold and snow. The town under the mountain, the Kakariko Village, was a different thing. People lived happily at there and actually liked the snow once it came.

The Gerudos who lived close to the desert, had no problems of snow either. When they did want to see the snow and play in it, they just left their area to Hyrule field. For snow at winter, they didn't need to go too far either but the way was slightly dangerous at some parts. The rocks after the bridge and even close to it froze and sometimes there were the fear of the bridge actually breaking. But for the safety measures, the bridge was actually checked each summer so it should be working at winter too.

The Lake Hylia was like Zora's Domain. It froze over fully. There was no chances of getting to Water Temple and even fishes at the fishing pond left the area. This was also the reason it was the best place for ice skating. Zora's Domain was cool place too but it was after all a home for Zoras, so it wasn't actually nice to go to there for ice skating.

Link woke up early at that day. He had happily watched the snowing for the past couple of days and now it had stopped snowing. He had been saying good-bye to Zoras when they had left. "See you at next spring!" Link had called to them while watching them swim away. Zoras had nodded and then followed the river away from Hyrule. Sure, the fact that the Zoras left was saddening, but he knew them to come back at next year once the snow and ice had melted.

The Hero of Hyrule got up and actually put on his red tunic. It was that time of the year and he gladly dressed up for the occasion. And the red tunic was better anyways for its heat keeping ability.

Link looked around at his small room. He had wanted to please princess Zelda, so he had actually cleaned his room yesterday. And he had planned to keep it like that until the next year started.

It was still really early when Link sneaked out of his room. Ganondorf and other enemies had been gone ever since he had killed the Lord of Darkness and Evil. There were no signs for new enemies ever since but he wasn't going to drop his guard just because it looked calm. And he did have few places to go to while getting ready for upcoming Christmas.

Link sneaked through the castle to the stables. Epona greeted him happily and Link greeted her with same happiness. He got the mare ready and rode as quietly as they could out of the castle. The market place was quiet but the horse left trail of hoofmarks on the snow. Link had forgotten that so he cursed a bit in his mind about it but decided not to care. If someone wanted to follow him, then so be it.

Link had decided to check the whole area inside of the first week. Just to make sure everything was alright at Hyrule. But before he was to start his round, he left towards Lake Hylia. Epona left to gallop gladly to keep the cold off. They arrived to the gates of Lake Hylia soon and the mare jumped gracefully over them.

The Hero slowed his ride a bit after the second and last fence. They looked around the lake and Link sighed a bit sadly when he saw the ice. He had known the lake to froze to the bottom but he always forgot it when the winter came. He stopped Epona at the start of the ice and came down. Epona left to look around but stayed close by.

Link walked to the ice. He slipped few times but managed to stay upright. Deciding that it was bit too slippery, he put on the iron boots. Magic was strong at Hyrule and when one didn't need one thing or other, those just shrank for better moving. With the iron boots the walk was slower but he didn't slip anymore.

Link walked towards an island which was above the Water Temple. He stopped far enough to look straight to the entrance and crouched down. Link sighed sadly while touching the ice with his right hand. "I always forget that it freezes over at winter." He whispered sadly.

"And you always forget that I come out of there before that happens." Came a sly reply right behind him. Link was startled badly. He rolled forward, turned around and faced his enemy with sword ready in his hands. But he calmed down on the instant he saw his enemy.

"Dark!" He called happily and sheathed his sword. The shadow of the Hero just chuckled but nodded. Link walked to him with a smile on his face. "I never get used to that trick of yours." He stated with a chuckle.

"I know. That's why it's so fun to keep doing it." Dark replied with a grin. He raised straight off his hand when Link was going to ask something. "And no, I still won't tell the way I do it." The darker Link stated. When the Hero looked a bit saddened, Dark laughed. "Maybe someday but that's not today." He said and nodded towards the shore.

Link nodded to his unstated question. "Yeah, came to here straight off." He said and the duo started to walk towards the shore where Epona was. The reddish mare didn't care about the dark, nearly black stallion close to her. The two horses were checking for grass and such from underneath the snow. "And you're not going to tell me where that horse came, do you?" Link questioned with a grin even though he knew the answer already.

"Nope." Dark replied. Link laughed and shook his head. They went to their horses and got up. "So, where first?" Dark questioned while coming next to Link.

Link shrugged. "It's your call this year." He replied. Dark nodded and started to think about it. They had been doing this for few years. Link had been first shocked to find that Dark Link was still alive. Link had been first ready to fight but Dark had actually refused from it. He hadn't even pulled out his sword. So, the sword still in his hands, Link had started to talk with his darker self.

Dark had never fully given any explanations for coming back to life or how he came up from nowhere once in a while. Yet, the darker hero wanted to stay out of sight. He never was close to Lake Hylia nor in the Water Temple during spring, summer or autumn. He only came out at there at winter. It was the only time when the fishing pond's keeper and the crazy old scientist weren't there. The pond keeper had moved to a small house at Hyrule market place and the scientist found a place at Kakariko Village.

Dark was just going to head to the gates of the Lake Hylia, but Link stalled. "I gotta check one place first before we leave." He apologized while jumping off of Epona. Dark was bit confused before he remembered the fishing pond.

"Right. Check the place and we can move out. The day's already turning into evening." Dark replied. Link nodded and started to run towards the fishing pond. On the second he stepped to the ice, he screamed and fell to his back. Dark laughed but got off of his horse and ran to help.

By the time Dark got to Link, the hero had already sat up. "Ouch..." He whispered while trying to get up. He was just going to fall back down when Dark got a grip on him.

"Let me help you. With the iron boots you're way too slow and without them you're going to fall." Dark said while slightly snickering. Link looked bit angrily at him but let the dark hero help him through the ice. "I'll wait here." Dark told when Link had gotten to hard ground. Sighing the Hero nodded and went to the door. He had the key to the area since he had promised to check the place during winter time.

Everything was alright at the fishing pond. Link walked once around the place, checked that the pond keeper hadn't forgotten anything and left the area. Dark helped him over the ice again and after that they left out of Lake Hylia and to Hyrule field. It started to snow when the duo had gotten some way away from the gates.

"Night is going to fall soon and then the temperature's going down too." Dark told while looking up to the sky. Link sighed sadly and nodded.

"Guess it's going to be the same way each year." He whispered sadly. Dark dropped his gaze to the snowy ground and stayed silent. "Each time I just get to come and fetch you and then it's already night fall. And we have to say good-bye again..." Link continued quietly.

"Hey, think for the bright side. We still have other days. By the time you've checked the area fully, I'm sure you're sick of me." Dark said trying to sound happy and bit cocky. Link looked at him in mix of sadness and anger.

"Not funny, Dark." The Hero replied. "Why can't you just face it already. I want you to stay by my side as my brother." Link continued but sighed and shook his head. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He stated without giving Dark a chance to say a think. Link got Epona to gallop and the duo left the dark hero to stand in the snowing alone.

Dark sighed sadly while turning his stallion towards the close by trees. They vanished into the shadows while Link rode towards the Hyrule Castle. The Hero was actually wanting to cry but he fought back the tears and tried to stay calm.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 2

Link had slept restlessly at the last night. Even Epona had been bit off when they finally came back to the castle. The Hero had been quiet and retreated to his room early. Zelda was bit worried about the Hero but let him be. It was always the same at the first day of December. He'd leave early and come back sad and quiet. Princess was worried but knew that Link would get over it. The first week was always a bit hard for the Hero but he always pulled through it.

Zelda watched sadly when Link left again the castle early in the morning. More often than not she wanted to follow him and see what he was planning. The only answer she ever got was that he went to check all of the places to make sure everything was alright for the upcoming Christmas.

The Princess of Hyrule sighed and turned her back to the window. She knew that Link would be alright on his own. He was after all the Hero of Hyrule. So, she pushed him to the back of her mind and went to her own work. She was going to look after that the cleaning was going well and that presents were bought. Not to mention about decorations and Christmas tree. Everything was to be done before Christmas.

Zelda started to walk to the throne room to get things thought thoroughly through. This was the time when everyone was given time off to be able to stay with their families. The guards were having even less of time on guarding and more with their families and friends. Every town and place were given what they needed. Food, warmth and decorations. Christmas was time of giving, not taking. And Zelda followed what her ancestors had started so long ago.

Link had left early again. He rode to the gates of Lake Hylia. The snowing had ended at last night and the fresh snow had vanquished the two horses hoofmarks. Epona stopped and Link looked around. All he could see was the snowy landscape, the gates, the walls and close by forest. No sign of Dark, though.

The Hero sighed and shook his head. "Don't force me to go back to Lake Hylia, Dark!" He shouted bit angrily. He had calmed down slightly after the night but sleeping restlessly didn't help his mood. "I know you're here, Dark!" He continued after a short while since his dark counterpart hadn't come out yet.

Link waited for a while longer but the shadow of the Hero didn't come out. Link sighed and shook his head. "Fine." He whispered and got Epona to trot forward. He guided the mare to the entrance of Kokiri Forest. He jumped off of Epona and walked through the huge round tree trunk.

The forest where he had lived most of his childhood was white with snow. The Kokiris were actually out and playing in the snow. Link greeted them while going through to the young Deku Tree. The tree was actually in sleep but still looking after the Kokiri Forest and the close by Lost Woods.

Link sat down in front of the tree and watched it sleep for some time. The bigger tree behind the younger one was dead but it still had given life to the younger one. The dead tree had been the first guardian of the forest and woods and Link spent some time to remember the earlier days.

Link eventually stood up and left the guarding tree to sleep. He climbed up to the entrance of Lost Woods. He turned around first and looked around wishing to actually join the Kokiris to their plays. Sighing Link entered Lost Woods and from old memory he found to the Forest Temple.

Before climbing up to the entrance he stood there watching around. He found the small tree trunk where Saria had thought him her song. That song had helped him through a lot. Link went to sit to the trunk and took out the Ocarina of Time and started to play. He only got to first note when he heard someone coming from behind.

Link stood up straight off and turned around while taking his sword out. "Is that a way to treat a friend?" Dark questioned laughing. Link sighed and sheathed the sword while putting the Ocarina off.

"And you should know better than surprising me." Link replied. "And where the heck you were? I called for you at the place where we last saw each other." He continued crossing his arms. He was angry for being left alone.

Dark shrugged a bit. "I had things to be done. I didn't mean to leave you like that. Thought to come back soon enough but things took longer than I thought." He replied. "I'm sorry."

Link sighed again and shook his head. "Just forget it." He whispered and took out Hookshot. "Come on, we got things to be done." He continued. Dark nodded and followed Link to a door high on a tree. They went inside, walked past the small clearing and to another door.

They entered the Forest Temple and took different ways to cover the whole place faster. Once the upper area was checked they took the lift down. They took turns in turning the wall parts and checking the small rooms behind them. Once it was clear that there were nothing to worry about, they went to the room with paintings.

It was calm and nothing was out of ordinary. "Still nothing to worry about." Dark said while looking at the paintings. He had been to the room many times but the paintings still intrigued him. "So, Ganondorf used..." Dark started but stopped in midsentence when Link sighed exaggerated.

"Dark, we've been through this time after time again." He stated bit angrily. "Yes, Ganondorf used his phantom self to attack me. Yes, the phantom went into the paintings and attacked from there. And yes, it was hard to find the real one at first. Can we, please, leave this topic already?!" Link stated, turned around and started to head back to the lift.

Dark was bit taken aback. This was first time he had seen Link this mad. Sighing, he left after the Hero. "Link, look, I'm sorry..." Dark started but stopped talking when Link turned around looking a bit more angry than before.

"I told you to drop it already!" Link shouted crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not in the mood, got it!?" He continued before turning around and storming to the lift. Dark kept his mouth shut and followed Link to the lift. The walk out of the Temple was done in pure silence.

Dark wanted to say something but he knew that Link needed time to calm down. They walked out of the maze and into Lost Woods still in silence. At the last turn to Kokiri Forest, Link stopped. He didn't turn around when he talked. "I'll see you at the Dodongo's Cave." After this he walked out of the woods and back to Kokiri Forest. Dark sighed and went back into the shadows of the trees.

Link tried to look casual while leaving the Kokiri Forest. He did inform them that everything was fine and nothing new had come up. The children of the forest thanked him and few even invited him to play with them. Link would've loved to join them but declined from the invitation. "Maybe some other time." He said with a shrug. "It's going to be dark soon and I'd rather get back to the castle while there's still daylight."

Once out of the forest, Link called Epona. The horse came happily willing to get out of the cold winter air. The Hero got up to his mare's back and didn't look around like he usually did before leaving. Link was bit mad at Dark which was reason he didn't search for him before heading back to the castle. _"Always leaving me on my own. Why can't he just accept my offer?"_ Link thought while letting Epona trot towards the Hyrule castle.

Zelda watched Link return home. He took Epona to her stable and fed her. After spending some time with the mare, he went inside the castle. The princess had seen that Link wasn't feeling any better than yesterday from the way the Hero came to the castle. That was also the reason she let him be on his own.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 3

Next day started with slight snowing. Link left long before the day had started. Zelda didn't hear him leave at all. This time the Hero just went to check on Epona. The mare was still sleeping and Link didn't want to bother her at all. Slightly smiling Link left the stables quietly.

The Hero had taken up a scarf this time with him and put it around his neck while starting to walk through the country yard towards the market. The sky was filled with grey clouds and snowing was at the time quite easy. Link enjoyed the quiet walk just hearing his own footsteps crunching on the snow.

The market was fully quiet. It was cold at outside, so Link knew that there probably wasn't going to be too many sellers during the day either. It had been promised to be snowy and cold day around Hyrule.

Link left the castle far behind and walked through the market place. He greeted the few soldiers who had nothing else to be done than shiver in the cold. Those were men who had already lost their families long ago and hadn't gotten married. Their only friends were other soldiers and they didn't want to go and bother their time off from duty. The guards knew that Link went and came by his own schedule so they didn't bother to ask where he was heading to or when he'd come back.

Link was actually happy about the quietness. He managed to think about different things and just listen to the nature around him. Once he walked through the small bridge which was done for those who were willing to come into the market place at night, Link headed to his left towards Kakariko Village.

The bridge had been Link's request since after defeating Ganondorf, he had wanted to come and go by his own rules. The main reason had been to gather his thoughts and figure out what he truly wanted from his own life. As time went by, he had settled into the castle. Yet, he took the first week from each month to check every other place just in case. So far everything had been calm... Until he met with Dark again.

Link pushed the thoughts out of his mind and walked over the small bridge to the side of Kakariko Village. He kept looking around while coming closer to Kakariko Village. By the time he came to the stairs, he hadn't seen any sign of Dark so far. Trying to push the idea off of his mind, Link continued forward.

The village was quiet. Link hadn't thought to crash up with any of the people but it still was bit eerie. Sighing, he continued his way around the houses. There were no marks of forced entry nor damages of nature's work. Link looked once towards the way up to the Death Mountain before turning away from there. He decided to check the Shadow Temple first.

The place was still creepy and Link handled the check as fast as he could. It still took longer than he had hoped for but got it done eventually. Once he managed to get out of the place, he sighed in relief and let the cold wind calm him down.

After calming down enough, Link jumped down from the entrance. The snow was nicely soft to fall into. He breathed few times deeply before starting to head out of the graveyard and back to the village.

People had already woken up and most of kids were outside. Link greeted everyone he met on his way towards the Death Mountain. _"This time Dark can wait for me."_ Link thought while slightly grinning. The start of the road was bit slippery but only for a short part. The cave came into his sight in no time and for his disappointment he didn't see Dark anywhere close the cave.

Shaking his head Link entered the Dodongo's Cave. There were still no signs of Dark. Link kicked close by rock in frustration and started his way through the cave. Only creatures he found from the place were Keese. Those bats were nearly everywhere and not as much of enemy as could think of.

The place was in order and no other creatures were found besides those bats. Link sighed and started his way up to the Gorons. He decided to first meet them before going into the Fire Temple.

The place was mainly empty. There were only few Gorons that were rolling around the area but that was just to stay warm. Link decided not to bother them and went into Darunia's room. Most of the Gorons were in the room.

Link greeted them and stayed at back. Most of the Gorons were asleep and few were chatting with each other. Since Darunia was one of the Sages, he wasn't among the other Gorons. Link left the Gorons to their own and walked through the small cave behind Darunia's chair.

The Hero came out into the volcano. It was faster and only way into the Fire Temple. Few Keese were flying around but Link didn't bother to spent any of time to fight them off. Once he came to the clearing, he looked to his right. The volcano looked to be fully in control.

Sighing, Link turned to his left to head into the Fire Temple. Right on his way was standing Dark. Link narrowed his eyes at the darker hero. "I thought I said to meet me at the Dodongo's Cave." Link started bit coldly. Dark was slightly taken aback.

"I know. And I did wait there but I figure out something." He started. Link stayed quiet and waited for Dark to continue. Dark gulped once before continuing: "You did tell to meet me at Dodongo's Cave but you forgot the way to Zora's Domain. I thought to check that place first."

Link was bit surprised. "Right..." He whispered while dropping his gaze.

"I was going to wait you at the Dodongo's Cave but I thought you had already gone through it when I'd get there so I came here." Dark continued before sighing. "Though, it seemed to take you quite a while since I've been waiting here for half of the day." He continued little sadly.

Link chuckled bit nervously while brushing his hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, I checked the Shadow Temple first." He explained. Dark was surprised.

"I thought we'd check that place together!" He exclaimed slightly hurt. Link sighed.

"Sorry. I guess I was bit off and wanted you to wait for me at the Dodongo's Cave." Link replied. _"How's that for an answer?"_ He thought while waiting for Dark's reply.

"Ouch. You really wanted me to get through the same I put you just yesterday, huh?" Dark stated and Link couldn't do other than nod with slight grin. "Fine, I can accept that. Are we good now?" He continued.

"Yeah. And thanks for checking the area to Zora's Domain." Link replied slightly happier. "Did you go inside, though?" He continued while walking to Dark.

The shadow shook his head. "Thought you might want to do that." He answered. Link nodded.

"Yeah but that would mean backtracking." Link said.

Dark nodded. "Yeah, you're right about that." He said bit in thought. "How about I'd check the place after we come from here? On that way you don't have to go there." He suggested.

Link thought for a while before nodding. "Sounds good." He replied before starting to go down the ladders. Dark nodded with a smile on his face. He followed Link down and then they started to check the Temple. Again they left to their own ways so they'd be able to look the place through lot faster.

It was dark when Link eventually returned to the castle. The first thing he did was to go check on Epona. The Hero made sure he was alone with the mare before he started to explain his day to her. The horse listened carefully and quietly. Link knew he couldn't talk to anyone else since Dark truly wanted to stay out of knowing.

Zelda was also happy to see Link happier than during the last two days. She smiled to Link and they exchanged few words. The princess explained how things were going at the castle and Link told that nothing had changed at the area but he still had several places to go to.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 4

The day started with thoroughly cold wind. It had gained power during the night and calmed down slightly at morning. The air was still colder than yesterday, so Link put slightly more clothes on. He still made sure to be able to get them off too since desert was bound to be hot.

The only thing that worried the Hero was that he hadn't talked with Dark about where they'd meet. He knew that the shadow wouldn't be around the Gerudo Fortress and quite surely not coming to meet him before the fortress either. The only first area they could meet was at the desert but that was huge area so Link was quite sure that Dark would be waiting for him at the Spirit Temple.

Epona was eager to gallop since she wanted to get out of the cold. The wind and mare's hoofs on the snow where the only sounds the Hero heard. While turning to the rocky way towards the Gerudo Fortress, Link slowed Epona's speed down. He knew the rocks to be truly slippery and he didn't want Epona to slip and hurt herself.

The mare slowed down into a trot. They went through a thick plank which did make slight sound of breaking. Epona took the last part by a jump because she was equally worried that it would break right underneath them. "That really would need a better bridge." Link thought aloud turning to check the plank. Epona neighed shortly for response. Link laughed a bit and patted the mare. "I assume you agree with me." He said and Epona nodded eagerly.

They continued to the real bridge. Epona was slightly nervous and wasn't too eager to pass the bridge. The bridge was swinging slightly from the wind and it looked hard to get over. Link let the mare back off a bit. "Don't worry. It will hold." Link whispered to her while patting the mare's neck. Epona shook her head.

Link sighed. "I can't leave you here, Epona. You know that." He said sadly. Suddenly he grinned. "How about you jump over it? You've done that before, remember?" He stated happily. Epona stopped her nervous moving and looked at the bridge. The horse thought for a while before nodding. "Good. Let's get this done with!" Link said and took good grip on the reins.

Epona walked to the same line with the bridge and pawed the ground few times with her right front leg. Then the horse left into a fast gallop. Right when she stepped to the swinging bridge, she jumped. The reddish mare came down on the other end and came up the small slope real fast. She was that of happy that she rose to her back feet. Link laughed a bit and Epona continued in a happy trot forward towards the Gerudo Fortress.

They didn't go into the houses but went to check the horseback archer grounds. Few of the targets had broken and few Gerudos were checking them. "What's happened in here?" Link asked while coming close.

The female guards looked up to him with slight smile. They nodded to him before turning back to the broken piece of wood. "Last night's wind got few bigger rocks to fall off. Those hit the targets." One of the three Gerudos said.

"Need any help with it?" Link questioned. The Gerudo who had talked shook her head for an answer.

"Nah. We can handle this. It's no big deal anyways." She replied with a smile. "This happens sometimes so we've prepared for it." She continued. "You just go check the Spirit Temple. Everything's been perfectly fine at here, so there's nothing to worry." The Gerudo said. Link nodded and turned Epona around.

They headed to the desert with fast trot. The wind had taken up into a small sandstorm. Link took one scarf out of his pocket and tied it around Epona's head to help her to keep her eyes and nostrils clean from the sand.

Link knew the way as did Epona. They were going nearly blind the further they got. The sandstorm got slightly harder on the way but eventually they did get though to a small oasis. Link jumped off of Epona and the mare shook her body straight off to get the sand off. Link took most of the clothes off since it was getting hot.

There was no sign of black stallion or of Dark. Epona went straight to the small water area and Link left to walk towards the entrance of the Temple. The Hero walked into the place and looked around for a short while but didn't see Dark anywhere.

Sighing, Link started to pick his way through the place. It was thoroughly quiet and there was no enemies anywhere close. After checking the left side and coming back to the main hall, he noticed a dark figure at the way to outside. Link became cautious and he was ready to draw his sword if the figure turned out to be hostile.

"Sorry I'm late." Dark stated while coming out of the shadows. Link sighed and relaxed. "Checking the Zora's Domain took a bit longer than I thought. And the way to here was quite long too." He explained with a shrug.

Link nodded. "Well, I only checked one area, so we can go further together." He said with a shrug. Dark nodded happily.

"The way to Zora's Domain is calm. There was no enemies and the whole river's in ice." Dark started his explanation. "The domain itself is in ice as it is at each winter. No-one's been left behind which I'm sure you already knew about. The ice cave was also clear of enemies and the water where Lord Jabu-Jabu lived at was cold but not frozen." Dark continued his explanation once in a while after checking different areas and meeting with Link later on again.

Link listened quietly and nodded once in a while. He had thought things to be the way Dark explained so there were nothing new about the information. "Thanks for checking the place for me." Link said once they came back to the entrance.

Dark chuckled a little. "Nah, no problem. It was easy thing because there's no-one around at this time of the year." He replied with a shrug.

Link shook his head with a smile on his face. "Should've guessed." He stated but sighed then while looking outside into the desert. He fell silent while leaning against the wall behind him.

Dark got bit worried and stayed silent for long while. "Link?" He eventually questioned. The Hero was slightly startled and he turned to look at his shadow. "Are you alright?" Dark continued worriedly.

Link sighed again and turned his gaze back outside. "Yeah..." He whispered quietly and shrugged then. "It's just..." The Hero started but trailed off.

"Just what?" Dark asked getting even more worried. Link shook his head.

"Nothing." He stated and started to walk out of the Temple towards his mare.

"Link!" Dark shouted and ran after him. "Don't try to fool me. Something's bothering you, I can see that." He stated while coming right in front of the Hero. Link stopped bit startled.

"I only have few days left that I can spend with you. Then I gotta work around the castle and other places to make sure everything's going fine. And I don't know when I'd be able to see you again." Link explained sadly and bit angrily.

Dark was quiet and watched the Hero in silence. Link had dropped his gaze into the sand and there were many feelings dwelling inside him. He was feeling mixture of sadness, anger, betrayal and loneliness. Dark sighed sadly and turned his gaze off too.

"At least we do have few days to spent with each other, right?" He said with slight hope in his voice. Link sighed and nodded while raising his gaze up to Dark.

"Yeah. We'd better just take the best of them." Link replied but his voice wasn't as strong as he would've wished it to be. "I'll see you at Lake Hylia tomorrow, then." He continued, walked past Dark and went to fetch Epona.

Dark stood in the same place and watched Link leave. He hadn't dared to say a word but he was forming a plan in his mind already. The shadow of the Hero wasn't fully sure about his plans yet but it did start to be more appealing after each passing day.

Link rode in silence back to the castle. Epona jumped once again over the swinging bridge. She even jumped over the wooden plank of a bridge before going on slow trot. Link let the mare choose the pace and way. The horse knew exactly where she wanted and that was home.

The wind had slowed down but the air was still cold. Epona took up a slow gallop because she felt that Link wanted to actually think about everything before getting back to the castle. And she was right about that. Link was fully in his own thoughts and didn't notice when the castle came into their view. Only when Epona neighed few times Link raised his gaze and sat up straight. He didn't want to worry anyone about his trips around Hyrule.

Zelda did notice straight off that Link was again bit saddened. She knew that her Hero wasn't in the mood of listening to how things were going at the castle, so she stayed silent. Link did inform that everything was alright at the Gerudo Fortress and at the Spirit Temple. The princess was ready to suggest about starting to work around the castle, but Link beat her on that. "I still have few things to be done and check. Like at the Lon Lon Ranch." Link said before retreating into his room.

Zelda sighed sadly but let Link go. The Hero did have his own works to be done as the Hero of Hyrule. She just wasn't sure where Link would spent the rest of time after checking Lon Lon Ranch. He would have checked all after that and there was lot to be done around the castle. _"Maybe he just needs some time off."_ Zelda thought while going to her own room for the night.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 5

The fifth day was sunny with really easy wind. It was still really cold outside but Link woke up bit saddened. He had remembered at last night that he still had Lon Lon Ranch to check before he could go back to the Lake Hylia. _"I don't think Dark remembers the ranch either."_ Link thought while going to Epona.

He had thought about letting the mare sleep longer but eventually decided against it. The ranch was the very first home for Epona and Malon had been her first owner. The reddish mare had all the rights to go see her birth home.

When Epona heard where they were heading to she became truly eager to get going. Link had to hold the mare back while riding through the market. There never was any knowing if some kids were out early to enjoy the winter days and the Hero really didn't want to crash up with them by the huge horse.

Once they got out of the market and into the field, Link let Epona take her course. The mare went straight off into a gallop and headed towards the ranch. She was eager to see Malon and the other horses. Link laughed a bit of happiness and calmed the mare down once they were getting close enough the place.

The Hero knew that the chickens and horses were held inside at winter time but you never knew if one or few had escaped to see the white world. And Malon was usually awake early to work at the ranch. Talon, her father, slept long but owned the ranch. And Ingo was hardworking but bit gruff about things.

Link jumped off of Epona and took her to the stables. "Link! I knew you were going to come sooner or later!" Malon shouted happily. She was checking the few cows and humming Epona's Song.

Link nodded with a smile. "Yeah." He replied without really knowing what to say. "So, everything's going alright around her?" The Hero continued while letting Epona go to Malon. The young woman greeted her old friend happily and gave the mare an apple.

Malon giggled a bit but nodded to Link. "Everything's been perfectly fine at here. Dad's still sleeping like usual and Ingo has left to meet few old friends of his." She explained. "But everything's so calm at here and the animals like to stay inside." She continued while coming to Link's side.

Epona had found few of her old friends and went to greet them. "So, the winter hasn't done any damage to the ranch, huh?" The Hero asked after a while. Malon shook her head.

"No, not yet." She replied and took Link by the hand. "Come on, I want to show you something." Malon said with a small grin. Link followed her out of the stables and close the huge clearing where was a fenced area for the horses.

Suddenly Malon let go of Link's hand, took few steps forward and scooped some snow into her hands. Link was watching the place in thought that he didn't pay attention into her doings. Suddenly a wet and cold ball of snow hit him.

Link was shocked and turned around real fast. Malon giggled at him while taking up a new snowball. "Come on! You're always so uptight! Relax and have some fun!" Malon shouted while throwing another ball at him.

The Hero avoided the ball and laughed a bit. "Okay, if that's what you want." He replied. "Just give me a sec to get my stuff off." He continued while taking the shield and sword off of his back. Link brushed some snow off of a crate and put the stuff to there.

Malon shot another snowball at the Hero and Link dodged the attack. He scooped snow up and turned it into a ball as fast as he could. Malon threw new ball and Link had to cover his face by his left arm. After that he threw the first snowball at Malon.

The snowball fight started on full and the duo laughed while throwing, avoiding and blocking the flying snowballs. There was no winner or loser in the game and it ended once Malon was out of breath. Link could've continued lot longer because he had been training since he was just a kid. Malon then again had lived at the ranch whole her life and didn't have the strength or stamina that Link harbored.

After calming down and catching her breath, she came up with another idea. "Let's build a snowman!" Malon exclaimed while starting to roll the first piece for it. Link chuckled a bit but followed in her plan. They did several different snowmen close to each other.

The first one was just normal looking snowman but rest were fully different. Zora, Goron and Kokiri were the figures that Link created out of the snow. Malon was working with a horse so she was taking more time with it than what Link took with the three other creations.

Once the snowmen were done, Malon took Link inside her home. She did hot chocolate for both of them and Link started to tell about the different races. This was what they did at each year. Link tried to come up with new information about the three races but he started to notice that he had told nearly all he knew. So he changed the information into stories about his trips around the world and about the stories he had heard from the other races.

Later on they let the horses out. Epona took on playing with the other horses in the snow. The coldness wasn't as hard anymore and they watched the horses playing in the snow. Epona hadn't lost her spirit at all and was quite wild among her kind.

When the evening started to fall, Link helped Malon to gather the horses back inside. He also helped with other chores around the ranch before taking Epona and leaving back to the castle. The mare was tired but happy.

After coming out of the ranch into the field, they walked past a lonely tree. Right after passing it, Link stopped Epona. He had a feeling of someone watching him. He got Epona to turn around and Link was bit surprised to see Dark on his black stallion.

"I thought we were supposed to meet at the lake, Link." He said bit angrily. Link chuckled slightly nervously.

"Yeah, I know..." He started. "I kinda forgot that I had Lon Lon Ranch to check too..." Link continued and nodded to his right towards the ranch. Dark sighed and shook his head. Link's nervous smile turned into a grin. "And I also knew that you'd forget about the ranch too."

Dark snorted and raised his gaze to Link. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Who knows." He replied and was slightly shocked when Link laughed.

"Right." The Hero replied. "If you had remembered it, you wouldn't have been so angry just a while ago." He continued grinning.

Dark sighed. "Fine, you got me there." He replied. "So, is there some other place you still need to check or are we going to meet at the lake tomorrow?" Dark questioned carefully.

Link nodded. "Tomorrow at the lake, Dark, it's a promise." He said happily.

"Good. I'll be waiting." Dark replied, turned his horse around and started to gallop away. Link sighed and turned Epona around too. He rode back to the castle in silence.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

Happy Independence Day of Finland! 95 years of Independence, woohoo!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 6

Link rose up early at that Saturday. The sky was grey of clouds but there was no snow in the air. It didn't seem too cold either but the Hero knew that it had been promised to be snowing later at that day. Link got up from the bed and dressed into his red tunic as earlier. Then he went to get Epona and start his trek to Lake Hylia

Epona wasn't too happy of going for sixth day into the cold weather but she followed Link's command. The mare took slow gallop towards the lake and sped up a bit to jump over the fences. Epona slowed into a trot after the second fence and soon Link slowed her down into a full stop.

Link looked around the winter scene but didn't see Dark anywhere. It still was early so the sun hadn't fully come up yet. Link jumped down from the mare and let her go on her own. The area was fully safe so he didn't worry too much for the horse.

Link walked towards the bridge next to the scientist's house. Still not seeing Dark he started his way to the dead tree's island. Dark sometimes was there because of the shadow the tree gave.

From the second bridge Link saw the figure. He was swallowed nearly fully into the shadows but a slight movement gave him away. "Hey, Dark!" Link called and slightly surprised the shadow of himself.

Dark walked off of the shadows into the dim light. "Hi. Nice to see that you actually came this time." He replied bit bitterly. Link sighed slightly angrily.

"Oh, come on. I said I'm sorry. You didn't remember the ranch either." Link answered while walking the last part to the island. Dark huffed.

"I know but it would've been nice to fetch me or something." He stated while crossing his arms over his chest and turning his back to the Hero.

"Maybe but you keep on telling that you don't want anyone to see you." Link reminded him. Dark turned around slightly angrier than just a while ago.

"True but that doesn't mean that I couldn't ride close to the ranch with you." Dark stated. "Besides... I did see how much fun you were having with _her_." He continued bit hurt and turned his back to Link again.

That comment got the Hero angry. "She's a friend of mine so you'd better get used to it!" He shouted. "If you would let people get to know you, you would actually make friends too and not be so freaking jealous about my friends!" Link continued and turned his back to the shadow. He didn't see Dark flinch by the words.

The two Hylians stood there in silence. Link angry and bit hurt. He felt like he had said a bit too much but yet, he wasn't willing to take anything back. Dark was hurt because he knew that the Hero was thoroughly right. He had chosen the life by himself and Link was trying his best to change it.

Eventually Link sighed. He had already dropped his gaze into the snow and slightly kicked it once in a while. Dark just stood there staring into the far off forest. Suddenly a snowball flew right through his body. The shadow of the Hero was shocked and startled about it.

Link had suddenly come up with an idea and crunched down to make a snowball. Quietly he turned around and threw it. Even he was fully shocked when the ball flew right through his target.

Dark turned around, his eyes were still huge from the shock and stared at the Hero. Their eyes met and both just stared for long while. "I... I never..." Link started quietly unsure about what he was supposed to say.

Dark sighed and dropped his gaze into the snow. "So, now you know." He whispered quietly. He sighed again and turned to look towards the small island further off from the place where they were at. "I'm here and yet, I'm not. I'm just a shadow that can fool himself to be real once in a while..." Dark whispered quietly before he dropped his sad gaze into the frozen lake.

Link just stared for long while. He really didn't know what to say or do but eventually he took once a deep breath and chose his next actions. The Hero made another snowball and threw it again at Dark. It flew right through just like the first one. Dark was surprised and he turned to look at Link bit irritated about the action.

Link was already doing third snowball with a grin on his face. Without a word he threw it. Once again it went straight through. "What the heck are you doing?" Dark asked while crossing his arms over his chest.

Link chuckled but didn't answer until he had thrown fourth snowball. "Trying my best to hit you with a snowball." He replied with a grin and started to do fifth one. "And I think I'm failing miserably at that." The Hero continued while tossing the fifth ball at his so called enemy.

Dark sighed and shook his head when the sixth ball flew at him. "Or at least trying to get you to be interested on snowball fight." Link continued after seventh snowball.

It was after eight snowball that Dark lost it. He scooped snow and made it into a ball by following Link's example. Before he managed to get it done the ninth snowball actually hit its target.

"Oh yeah! Finally!" Link shouted and did a small victory mark. Dark growled and brushed the snow off of his tunic. He threw the small ball of snow he had made and hit Link straight into the chest.

Link laughed while brushing the snow off. "Now we're talking!" He exclaimed and started to make another snowball. Dark was slightly faster on the work and threw his second snowball at Link.

The Hero managed to avoid the oncoming attack and threw his own at Dark. The shadow managed to sidestep away from the way and throw his own at Link. Before the darker Hylian even realized, he was actually having fun. The snowballs were flying and both tried to avoid the oncoming attack as well as to answer into the attack.

The war took long time until both of the Hylians dropped to ground out of breath but smiling and slightly laughing. Dark had lost the control of being solid and the snow fell off of him like there wouldn't be anything solid to hold on to. Link on the other hand had to brush most of the snow off but he couldn't help with the cold that came with being wet. After a short while Link stood up from the snow and started to pace while brushing at his arms. "You're actually lucky to be a shadow, Dark." Link muttered while trying to get warm. The red tunic worked well as long as it didn't get thoroughly wet.

Dark sat up slightly surprised. "What do you mean by that?" He asked. Link sighed and shook his head.

"This! I'm freezing here!" The Hero shouted and turned to face his shadow. "You don't feel cold nor get wet! You're lucky on that way." He continued while turning away from Dark. Eventually Link sighed and tried to calm down. "At least we did have a bit of fun." He stated and turned around with a half a smile on his face.

Dark nodded slightly and stood up. "Is there anything I can do to help you?" He asked slightly worriedly. Link shook his head.

"Nah, not really." He replied and shrugged. "I just gotta get warm one way or other." Link continued and looked around for a while. "How about we'd do a snowman?" He continued and started to run towards the bridge and through there back to the main land.

Dark looked bit surprised. "A snowman?" He questioned quietly before running after the Hero. They came to the mainland and Link started to work with the snowman. Dark stopped right behind Link and watched the Hero start to do a snowball into bigger ball.

"So... Those things you did with that girl were snowmen, huh?" Dark asked while walking next to Link. The Hero nodded.

"Yeah, and her name is Malon." Link replied with a slight grin. Dark narrowed his eyes slightly but let it slip quite fast. "Come on! If you know what to do, then help me a bit, will ya!" Link continued chuckling. Dark was slightly startled but started to work with another snowball which he managed to get to grow.

Eventually they had managed to build a snowman. During the work Link had gotten warmer so the cold didn't hit that of hard anymore. "So, what do you say?" The Hero asked while crossing his arms over his chest.

Dark rounded the snowman with a wondering look on his face. Link laughed. "Oh, come on! It's not a masterpiece but it's good enough." He said happily. Dark chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, it is quite cool." He replied and smiled. It had been first snowman he had ever done as well as with the snowball fight. He and Link hadn't done anything like that before during the last six years. They had mostly just talked and walked around but not done anything like that before. "It was fun to do..." Dark whispered quietly.

Link's smile widened. "Then we should do another!" He exclaimed and started to work with second snowman. "You can either help me or do one by yourself!" Link said to the startled shadow.

It took a while from Dark but he did eventually start to make his own snowman. Soon they both had done two more snowmen into the main land of the lake. Link talked about the news he had heard at the market place at each evening he had returned to castle. Most were just gossip and talks about upcoming Christmas. Dark listened and asked about some things but he didn't really have any news or gossip for Link, which slightly saddened him.

Eventually the evening started to fall down and Link went to fetch Epona. "I'll come back tomorrow, Dark. I promise." Link said once he had gotten up on the mare's back. Dark nodded with a smile. After that the Hero rode out of the lake and back to the castle.

Dark sighed and returned back to the tree. He let the shadows hide him while he sat down and stared at the rising moon. He kept thinking about Link's words and his small plan started to appeal to him even more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 7

Link did come back to the lake as he promised. He was on happy mood since yesterday had gone by so well. The start had been hard but in the end he had had lot of fun with Dark. And Link looked forward to continue with that fun. He already had few good ideas for the day.

The Hero jumped off of Epona long before she had even stopped. The mare was slightly surprised but let her rider leave while she went to search for frozen grass to eat. Link nearly ran to the small island. "Dark! You here?" He called far before he reached the island.

The shadow came off of his hiding place bit surprised about the Hero's happy voice. "Yeah, I'm here." He replied and waited that Link got to him. "What's gotten you so happy?" Dark inquired.

Link chuckled. "Just for the fact of having the day to spend with you." He replied. "So... I got few cool ideas about what we could do today." The Hero continued with a wide smile. Dark answered to the smile bit hesitantly.

"Oh, and what's that?" He asked carefully.

Link's smile widened. "Come on, I'll show you!" He replied, turned around and started to head back to the main shore. Dark hesitated a bit but did follow him. Link ran to Epona and started to go through the small backpack he had taken along. Dark watched interested about Link's work but stayed far enough just in case.

Eventually Link turned around with a huge grin on his face. "Ta-daa!" He shouted while presenting ice skates. Dark frowned a bit. He had no idea what the boots with sharp metal in their bottom were.

"What are those?" Dark asked and pointed to the boots. Link's smile dropped.

"You don't know what ice skates are?" He asked surprised. Dark stayed quiet. Link sighed, walked close to the ice and started to change his boots into the skates. "These are actually used to move on ice." Link explained while standing up and going to the ice.

Dark watched bit warily at Link's going. The Hero was still having hard time on staying upright. He fell few times and Dark flinched at each fall but he stayed quiet. Eventually Link managed to stay up and actually got the hang of it.

"Come on! Let's skate." Link called once he was sure that he'd stay up. Dark shook his head but walked to the ice. He had no problems of staying up but then again he wasn't sliding on the ice either.

Link sighed and shook his head. They stood on the ice for a while before the Hero started to grin. "Can't catch me!" He shouted and started to skate away from Dark. It took a while from the shadow of the Hero to realize that he was supposed to chase him. Eventually he did run after Link.

The longer Link stayed on the ice, the better he became with the skates. He did fall down few times but he was fast to stand back up. Dark kept on running after him but Link was fast on changing his way. After some time of running after the Hero, Dark slipped for the first time on the ice.

The shadow shouted out in surprise while his legs gave out. Link skidded into a stop and turned around. The two Hylians stared at each other for a while. They both were surprised that Dark had actually fallen. Eventually Link started to laugh. "I can't believe you actually fell!" He shouted.

Dark growled a little, stood up and ran after the Hero. Link yelped and started to skate away. The darker Hylian was for long while hot on Link's heels until he started to slip again. For the first few times he managed to stay up and just catch himself by his hands. But eventually he fell again, yet he didn't stay down long.

Eventually Dark had enough of chasing Link around. He vanished from the ice and when Link stopped again, he was surprised that he didn't see Dark anywhere. "Dark?" He called and looked around.

Suddenly the darker Hylian jumped out right in front of the Hero. Link screamed while Dark got him to crash down into the ice back first. The shadow was grinning and right over him. "Got you." He stated while standing up again.

It took a while from Link to recover from the surprise attack. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that." He said while still lying on the ice. Dark laughed a bit and offered his hand to Link. The Hero took it gladly and Dark pulled him back to his feet.

"Yeah, I know." Dark said with a devilish grin. "And that seems to be the only way of winning you at some things." He continued with a shrug. "So... What next?" The dark Hylian questioned.

"Well, I'll get off of the ice first." Link replied and started to head back to the shore. Dark followed close by and watched as Link changed back into his own shoes. The Hero returned the skates back to the backpack before turning around to face Dark.

The shadow of the Hero was quiet and waited for Link to continue. Link scratched the back of his head while thinking. Eventually he smiled. "How about bit of training?" He asked.

Dark sighed but took out his sword. "Fine." He replied without much of enthusiasm. Link laughed and shook his head. Dark frowned a bit. "What are you laughing at? And why aren't you taking your sword out?" He asked confused.

"Because that's not the training I was talking about." Link said and started to walk back to the island where the tree was. Dark sheathed his sword and followed Link. "The thing is that one throws snowballs and other slices them by his sword." The Hero explained.

"And how's that supposed to be training?" Dark asked bit confused. Link laughed again while scooping some snow into his hands.

"You'll see." He replied nonchalantly. Dark sighed but stayed silent. They came to the island and Link threw the ball into the air and caught it. He kept throwing it while turning to face Dark. "So, do you want to throw first or slice?" Link questioned.

Dark shrugged but took out his sword again. "So slicing the snow it is." Link stated and threw the snowball at Dark. The shadow was bit startled and he actually avoided the first ball. Link chuckled while making another. "You're supposed to fight with you sword, not avoid." He said grinning.

Dark growled a bit in frustration. "I know that." He stated and prepared for the next ball. Link threw the second snowball and this time Dark did hit it with his sword. He grinned a little and the Hero nodded to him. The third snowball came fast and fourth followed it quite soon.

Link threw the snowballs on any way he could come up with. High, fast, low and slow, it changed quite often. He aimed for anywhere he could where he thought that Dark wasn't ready for it but the shadow was faster than Link had thought. Only few snowballs hit their target while others were sliced by the sword. Couple of times Link threw a miss by a reason but he still couldn't fool his friend.

Dark grinned when Link eventually stopped. "Your turn." He stated while sheathing his sword. Link nodded, took out his Master Sword and changed places with Dark. The shadow didn't give much of time for Link to get prepared for the attack but Link had his instinct trained and he managed to avoid the first ball easily. Next one was sliced and by the third snowball Link was fully ready for the attack.

They changed places few times until Link grinned and actually didn't slice the oncoming snowball. He hit it with his sword's wide part and send it back to Dark. The shadow hadn't been waiting for such turn of the attack and just barely avoided the snowball. The surprise of the attack and fast avoiding had actually gotten the darker Hylian to fall to ground. Link laughed and shook his head. "Always be ready for surprise attack!" He shouted.

Dark growled a bit in frustration. He truly hadn't been prepared for it but he stayed on the ground without saying a word. Link was getting bit worried when the shadow didn't move. He sheathed his sword and started to walk towards Dark. "Dark? Are you alright? I didn't hit you, did I?" Link questioned worriedly.

Dark waited until Link was right next to him until he tackled the Hero to ground. Link screamed out of shock and before he knew what had happened, Dark had already dropped handful of snow into his face. The shadow pulled off and started to laugh. "Always prepare for surprise attack, remember?" He stated grinning.

Link spit snow out of his mouth and swept most off of his face. "Right." He said while sitting up. But soon he laughed too. "Nice work with it." Link continued before slightly shivering. Dark flinched.

"Damn... I always forget that you get cold if you get wet at winter." The shadow said little angrily. Link chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, it's no big deal." He stated and stood up. "So, what next? We still have some hours before I gotta get back to the castle." Link said while starting to try and get himself warm again.

Dark shrugged. "We could talk about something." He suggested while standing up. "That is, while we actually walk and try to get you warm up." He continued and started to head back to the main shore. Link nodded and started to follow Dark.

They were quiet for a while since neither actually had any good topics to talk about. Eventually Link sighed and picked up the one and same topic which he never got through his friend. "Why can't you come to live at the castle, Dark? Why you insist of staying out of knowing?"

Dark flinched and dropped his gaze into the ground. He kicked at the snow and sighed but didn't answer. Link sighed too since he was quite sure that he wasn't going to get an answer to the question. "Because I'm meant to be an enemy..." Dark whispered quietly.

It took Link by surprise to hear Dark answer. He had to blink few times and actually think out what he had said since it had been so quiet that he wasn't sure he had even heard it. "But I could claim that you're my brother. Everyone's bound to accept you." Link replied.

Dark shook his head. "I doubt it would work. Everyone knows that you're the only child and all that..." He said quietly.

"But things can change, Dark!" Link started desperately. "I can say that neither knew about it and that... Well... I would come up with something for sure!"

Dark chuckled. "Not the worth, Link." He said and shook his head. "I am just a shadow. You could never know off where I'd be. I'd be freaking everyone out and..." He started but Link cut him short.

"And the Sheikahs have red eyes like you!" Link shouted and stopped walking. "Also they stay in the shadows and yet they're known about." He continued while crossing his arms over his chest.

Dark stopped too and turned around to face Link. "Yeah and they're different than what I am." He replied bluntly. "I _am_ a shadow. Sheikahs are real persons. I _am_ your dark side and all that." Dark continued while getting bit angry about the topic.

"That's the point, Dark!" Link continued. "You're _supposed_ to be my dark side but you _chose_ to change it. You are _not_ my dark side _nor_ my shadow!" He shouted and threw his arms open.

Dark turned around while closing his eyes. "How well can you count on me not changing my mind about all this?" He whispered while staring off into the horizon. "How well can you count that some other enemy doesn't take me over and turn me against you?"

Link sighed and shook his head. "Because you came back to life and you've made your own choices without anyone telling you to do something." He replied as calmly as he could.

Dark shook his head. "But neither of us know _why_ I came back... Maybe there is a new threat already formed up but hasn't yet emerged from the shadows..." He whispered. _"Maybe this is the reason... The closer I get him, the harder the enemy can hurt him by turning me against him..."_ Dark thought and closed his eyes. He wanted to cry but couldn't. _"The curse of being a shadow... Can't feel, can't cry... Can't do anything right..."_

Link sighed sadly and walked next to Dark. The Hero carefully hugged his shadow from behind. "Nothing can get us apart, Dark. I'll swear." He whispered quietly.

Dark shook his head. "You can't promise that, Link." He replied even quieter than Link. He truly wanted to be real but he also feared about lot of things that such decision would bring. Dark pulled free and walked few steps away from Link before turning around.

Link sighed and crossed his arms over his chest because he still was feeling cold. The Hero was bit hurt and desperate. "Dark, _please_..." He whispered while looking at his shadow pleadingly. Dark closed his eyes and turned his head away from Link.

The shadow of the Hero sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Link, but no. I can't do it. I can't come to the castle to live... I'm sorry." He whispered and started to walk towards the bridges.

Link left after him desperately trying to convince Dark to change his mind. "I'm not asking you to change, Dark! I'm only asking you to live with me!" He shouted and stopped at the pillar that was in middle of the main shore and the island. Dark walked to half way through the second bridge before stopping. He didn't turn around.

Dark shook his head. "And that's still way too much asked, Link." He whispered before walking to the tree and vanishing into the shadows. Link heard a horse coming fast from behind him and he turned around. The Hero managed just in time to avoid the black stallion that came galloping towards him. The horse ran straight to the tree and vanished into the shadows just like Dark had just a while ago.

Link sighed, shook his head and watched at the tree for a while in silence. "My offer stands for eternity, Dark! All you need to do is come to the castle and I'll handle everything!" He shouted and knew thoroughly well that Dark heard him.

There was no answer and Link sighed again while turning his back to the tree. He took once a deep breath to calm himself again before turning around to face the tree once again. "I'll be back at next Sunday no matter what! Nothing can keep me away from here!" Link shouted. "Not even a snowstorm! I'd rather die out of cold than not come here to see you again!" He continued and hoped to get Dark to at least answer to that. But the wind stayed quiet and Link couldn't see any kind of movement at the tree.

Link sighed and left back to the main shore. He fetched Epona and turned for one more time towards the tree. Everything was calm and there was no notion about the shadow of the Hero. Link sighed and turned Epona towards the gates. He rode back to the castle in silence and feeling hurt and saddened about the conversation.

Once Link was gone, Dark came out of the shadows. He petted his stallion and hid his face into the horse's mane. "We gotta do it, Storm." Dark whispered, got up to his stallion's back and rode to the ice. The horse didn't slip even once when they headed towards the shadowy forest around the lake. Before going into the forest, Dark turned to look at the entrance of Lake Hylia one more time. "I'll be here at seventh day, Link. We'll see each other again..." He whispered quietly before he encouraged the stallion into the shadowy forest.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Review Reply to James Birdsong regarding the earlier chapter:

Thank you for review! ^.^

I'm glad you've liked the story so far!

...Over and out...

AkuDemyfan

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 8

That Monday Link was slow to get up. He didn't really look forward to check up on cleaning and doing other chores. The main reason he wasn't feeling too well was that he wasn't going to have any of rights to sneak out to see Dark. _"If I just can keep myself occupied with different things, the time will go faster... I think."_ Link thought while sitting up on his bed.

He sighed and shook his head. _"No point just sitting here and waiting. Zelda will come to fetch me if I don't start by myself."_ Link continued to ponder and stretched then. He stood up and started to get ready for the day. He really didn't have any of enthusiasm to start the day but then again he didn't really have any excuses to stay at bed either.

Once he was ready, he left towards the stables. _"The least is that I'll go see Epona."_ Link decided while making his way through the castle. He arrived soon to the stables but didn't go too far inside since he noticed that his mare was still asleep. _"Just sleep, Epona. You deserve the rest."_ Link thought with a small smile before turning around quietly and exiting the stables.

Link started to wander around the castle. Most of the people were still asleep since the Hero woke up early in most of the days. Before the Hero even knew where he was going, he found himself from the entrance of the castle. On the wall was huge piece of paper and Link walked straight to it.

The paper was list of chores at the castle. Most of it was cleaning the castle and sending help for those who for one reason or other couldn't do the cleaning at their own homes. The next main thing was foods. That really was needing lots of cooks and help on it. It wasn't just to feed the castle but everyone around Hyrule who couldn't afford the food for their families. Third huge part of the list was decoration.

Link skipped through most of the work. It didn't appeal to him and some of those he knew to truly fail thoroughly. He knew to be just on the way if he chose the wrong part of chore for himself. Such things were cooking and cleaning. Link only knew few things to cook but that was only by campfire when needed. And on cleaning he wasn't that of tidy nor eager for it. He knew to mainly just slack off while others did the work.

He didn't have the luck of finding anything on the list that would've been on the lines of 'Killer of monsters in search'. Link sighed while going through the list and hoping to find something worth of doing. Eventually few parts took his notice. First was sword fighting teacher but when he checked forward on the line, it was already taken.

The second was a babysitter. It didn't sound too good but Link was eager to tell his adventures to younger folk. They usually listened eagerly and made some questions along the way. And Link did like kids but he didn't want to be in one and same place too long. When he checked further about it he noticed that there was already on that job.

The last part that was of some interest to the Hero was a job for deliveryman. Link grinned when he noticed that wasn't yet taken. _"At least I might be able to get to see Dark at one point or other."_ Link thought happily and took the pen that was hanging next to the paper. He wrote his name next to the job and left to the post office.

"Ah, Link! Nice to see you around." The postman said when Link stepped inside. "How can I help?" He continued while not stopping his work of sorting out different letters.

"Actually I came to help you." Link replied smiling. "I saw that there is a deliveryman in search." He explained and leaned against the counter. The postman nodded.

"Yeah. We do have a horse for use on that and especially this Christmas time is really busy." The postman said. He still had his back turned to Link. "It would be mainly delivering bigger packets into another towns and sharing its contest to right places." He continued. He chuckled a bit and turned around to wink to Link. "It is kinda like being Santa Clause." He continued and Link grinned a bit.

"Well, at least I do have right clothes for that." The Hero joked a bit. The postman laughed and nodded.

"You sure do." He stated and pointed then to next room. "The packets are there. Most are already sorted out by place but there are also newer ones that haven't been sorted yet." He explained. Link nodded and started to head towards the room. "The cart and horse are outside in the stables." The postman continued before going back to his work.

Link thanked him and opened the door. It was filled with different sized packets. He started to walk among them to get some kind of notion about how things were sorted. After a while he started to notice different kind of groups where the labels were same. There was no explanation of when to deliver them but Link thought it would be best to do as fast as possible.

Once he knew his way around the place, Link started to sort the unsorted packets to right groups. That took several hours of hard work since some of them were quite heavy. After he had gotten the new packets to right groups, Link took a short break.

Next on line was to check the horse, Silver. The mare was white with slight grayish fur. She was really friendly and made a straight connection with the Hero of Hyrule. The mare followed Link without even been asked and stood still while Link started to get the cart on. Silver followed him to the backdoor of the room where the bigger packets were at.

Link had known that there wouldn't be any packets to Lake Hylia but it still saddened him a bit. It would've been great reason to go to the lake but instead of that he had to choose the next best part. And that was Kokiri Forest. Another close by place would've been Gerudo Fortress but Link knew that Dark wouldn't be anywhere near that place at all.

Link gathered all of the packets to the cart and shut then the door. He took a grip on Silver's reins and started to guide her to the market place. The post office was quite well between the castle and the market place. Link got up to Silver's back only after he had gotten past the market. It was easier to guide the mare through it by foot and from her back.

The Hero of Hyrule was sure that he wasn't going to see Dark but it didn't hurt to wish. He wanted to call his friend's name but instead he just watched closely to the shadows of the close by forest. He stopped Silver before turning to the small path to Kokiri Forest. Link watched for some time around in hopes of seeing Dark.

There was nothing. Not even slight wind that would've brushed at the trees and get some snow to fall off. Link sighed and shook his head while getting the mare to move again. He jumped down once they came to the entrance and took again grip of the reins to guide the horse into the Kokiri Forest.

The children of the forest were happy to see Link again. Seeing his old friends did get him happier. Link shared eagerly the packets he had brought and talked with the Kokiris. There was nothing new at the forest but Link did share lot of information from the outside world eagerly.

He spent few hours at the forest after he had gotten all of the packet off. Few of the Kokiri brought him a packet of few to take to another place. Link took those happily on the cart. He left the place when the evening started to fall down.

Once he got out of the small path he stopped Silver again. The mare wasn't fully happy about it since the air had gotten colder. "Dark! Are you here?!" Link called into the shadows but got no reply. He sighed and headed back to the castle letting the mare choose the speed. Silver took on fast trot to show that she was no old horse and that she still had lot of strength in her.

While Link started his work as deliveryman, Dark was starting to get closer to his destination. He had heard lot of rumors from the shadows about the place but he hadn't dared to tell about it to Link. He knew that the Hero wouldn't have been too happy to know where he was heading to. Dark gulped once nervously when he got the old cottage into his sight. "This is it, Storm." Dark whispered. "This is where our lives will change." He continued quietly and slightly afraid.

He jumped off of his stallion and walked to the door. Nervously he knocked on the door but from the first hit it swung slightly open. Dark gulped and took a step inside the dimly lit cottage. "Welcome, shadow of the Hero. I've been waiting for you." Came a voice from the darkest corner of the room startling Dark badly.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**NOTION!** If you want to know what Dark's thinking on his way to the sorcerer... Go read the first chapter of CaH: Dark's Thoughs. Hope it clarifies bit on Dark's side of the chapter. ;)

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 9

Link woke up from a restless night. He hadn't been able to sleep much but he had no idea what was bothering him so badly. The Hero yawned while getting up from the bed and getting dressed. He stretched a bit before leaving his room.

It was still way too early so he didn't go to the stables nor to the post office. Instead he left the castle and went into the cold winter air. The sky was clear of clouds and the moon and stars were shining brightly. Link brushed snow off of close by bench and sat down. He turned his gaze into the sky and watched the stars.

After a while he noticed a falling star. Link smiled, closed his eyes and made a wish. He had done the one and same wish each time ever since he saw a falling star six years ago but so far the wish hadn't come into reality.

The Hero sighed and his breath come out in mist. He rubbed at his arms while getting up from the bench. Glancing one more time into the night sky, he left back towards the castle. He knew he couldn't go back to bed so he headed to the training area.

Link took out his sword and started to swing it at the dummies in the room. He hadn't put any lights on because he didn't want anyone to come check about his doing. Only when the sunlight started to seep through the windows did Link stop his training. He washed up and stretched a bit before leaving to the post office to start the day's work.

He was first one at the office. Link had gotten the keys to the place so he had no trouble in getting inside. The Hero went first to check how much of new packets were brought in but there were nothing new since yesterday. He had sorted out the new packets after he had come back from Kokiri Forest so there was nothing to really do at the time.

Link sighed while walking around the packets. There still was nothing to Lake Hylia and nothing new for Kokiri Forest either. He left the room and walked to the stables to find Silver.

The mare was already awake and actually happy to see Link. He greeted the horse and started to put things ready for the day's work. Once the mare had been fully geared, he guided her to the backdoor of the big packets room. He put the group of packets that were closest to the door into the cart.

Once he was ready and had shut the doors, Link checked where he was heading to for the day. It was meant to Gerudo Fortress. The Hero walked next to Silver and took a grip of the reins again before heading out of the post office towards the fields.

Link rode in fast trot close to the rocky way to Gerudo Fortress. Before going to the area he jumped off of the horse and guided Silver to the first bridge. The plank held the weight of the horse, cart and Link surprisingly well. For the Hero's luck, there was no wind so the second bridge wasn't swinging at all.

Silver crossed the bridge without hesitation. Link knew that the weather could change fast so he called the Gerudos around as soon as he got far enough inside. The female warriors were eager to keep Link longer among them but he told that the bridge would be hard to cross later if the wind picked up. So the Hero left as soon as he got the cart empty and got new ones on.

Luckily the wind hadn't gotten stronger and Silver managed to get over the bridge. They returned back to the post office and Link emptied the cart. He kept a short lunch break and went to see Epona.

The mare was happy to see Link. She had thought for a while that her owner wouldn't come over at all. Link kept his lunch break at Epona's stable and promised to come back once his work for the day would be over.

The second delivery went to Kakariko Village. Link stayed at there slightly longer than at Gerudo Fortress since he didn't have anything to worry on his way back to the castle. Since he had more time to spend, Link actually took some packets to right door since he knew that there was some of people who were having bit hard time during winter. Once he left the village, Link let Silver take her own speed on her way back to the post office.

While Link was continuing his work as deliveryman, Dark had talked for most of the last night and day with the owner of the old cottage. Most of the talking was done by the old man who claimed to be a sorcerer. Dark only listened and nodded when needed to.

When the night had fallen, they finally got to the main part. "Just stand still and keep your eyes closed." The man said and Dark obligated. The sorcerer grinned evilly and started to call out a spell. "Don't think about being solid. Just melt into the shadows." He continued with normal voice and Dark nodded while once breathing deeply so he could relax a bit.

Dark stood there slightly scared waiting for the spell to work. He knew that there was going to be a price for his decision but they hadn't talked about it even one bit. _"I hope it's just rupees."_ Dark thought while trying to relax but soon that thought was interrupted real harshly.

The sorcerer sent the spell towards his guest. Dark heard the spell come only vaguely but he _did_ feel when it hit. The pain was excruciating and he screamed in pure agony while his eyes flew open in shock and pain. Storm rose to his hind legs while neighing madly before crashing to his side. The sorcerer only grinned evilly and prepared the next spell.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 10

Link woke up in middle of the night screaming. He shot up from the bed panting in shock and fear. The Hero could feel pain in his chest and he brought his hand over his heart while gasping for air.

Link stared in the darkness straight at his bed while staying in on four. Suddenly the pain got worse and he gasped in shock. The Hero of Hyrule fell to side on the bed while panting. His eyes were wide with shock. _"What the heck's going on?"_ He thought in fear.

Third wave of pain came and Link shut his eyes while trying to will the pain to go away. Shaking badly, he stood up and started to change clothes. He couldn't stay in his room but he wasn't sure of where he should be going to.

Link staggered out of his room and towards the stables. He was truly happy that his room was farthest in the castle. He had asked for privacy and chosen his own room. Zelda hadn't been too happy about it but Link hadn't let her win that fight. And now he was glad that no-one was to hear or see his pain.

When Link arrived to the stables, he noticed straight off that Epona wasn't well either. The mare was pacing in her small stable and her eyes were wide with fear. It took a while from her to recognize Link but even then she didn't fully calm down.

"I know, Epona, I know." Link whispered while hiding his face into her mane. Epona was still shaking in fear and not able to stay put. Link tired his best to calm her down but he himself was far from calm.

Link breathed in Epona's scent and tried to calm down. He didn't remember straight off a time he would've felt like this before but suddenly something did come into his mind. _"Dark!"_ Link thought in pure shock and pulled off of Epona. He stared right forward without seeing the mare while the memories flashed through his mind.

Link recalled one time he had felt the same pain and that was when he had first fought with his darker counterpart. And even more when he killed him. Killing his own darkness had felt like killing half of himself.

Link had felt that there was a part of him missing ever since that day until he met with his darker self again. It had been only six months since the death of Ganondorf and Ganon. He had been going through the Temples to make sure everything was fine.

The Hero also recalled that after the first month of saving Hyrule, he had felt like small part of him had been recovered. During the time the feeling started to grow and when he finally entered the Water Temple, he knew to be close.

The first feeling that Link had when he saw Dark was shock. He had been ready to fight again but his dark counterpart hadn't moved nor taken his sword out. They had just stared at each other and Link had felt bit awkward about the situation. Then the darker Hylian had sighed and shook his head before saying: "If you really want to kill me, then do it but I won't fight back."

Link had been shocked and just stared at him for a long while. "Why would I kill someone who isn't a threat to me?" He replied while sheathing his sword. He stayed suspicious about the whole thing but wanted to see what his enemy had in his mind.

The darker Hylian laughed. "Why did you come back to here?" He questioned while crossing his arms over his chest.

Link grinned and shrugged. "Just checking that all's fine around here." He replied before frowning. "And why are you back?" Link asked and he actually wanted to continue his words by another sentence: _"I thought I killed you!"_

The Hero's darkness laughed and shrugged too. "I don't know. But, I'm here now anyways." He replied grinning. Link's frown deepened but he stayed silent. "Listen, I'm not going to attack or do anything. Just come and go as you please." The darker Hylian stated and walked to the tree in middle of the room. He leaned against it and sat down.

Link just watched and stood there for a long while. Eventually he breathed in deep and followed his darker self to the tree. He sat down feeling quite well his darkness' eyes on him. "So, did you come back just today or have you been here longer?" Link questioned while leaning against the tree right next to his darker self.

The darker Hylian just stared at him for long while in silence. Link had closed his eyes and when the silence continued he opened one eye and looked at the darker Hylian. "Well, you going to answer or not?" Link continued.

The darkness of the Hero sighed, shook his head and chuckled a little. "You don't seem to be worried that I'd kill you right here and now." He said with a grin. Link was startled but he didn't move away from his place. "Tempting the fate, I see." The darker Hylian continued, closed his eyes and brought his hands behind his head.

"You still haven't answered to my question, you know." Link stated while trying his best to stay calm. There was no answer so he decided to go to the next question. "Okay, since you're not eager to answer to that question, then how about the next one..." Link said mainly to himself before continuing: "Why aren't you willing to attack me?"

Now was the darker Hylian's time to be startled. He opened his eyes and looked surprised to the Hero next to him. "Well... I just don't feel like doing that." He replied bit uncertain. _"I don't want to die. That one time had been hard enough... And no-one's telling me to kill you..."_ He thought and wondered a bit why he didn't say it out loud too.

Link looked bit suspicious about the answer but nodded slowly. "Right..." He replied while thinking for next question.

The two Hylians kept on talking but didn't get much of answers. Link left the room bit uncertain about the whole situation. He checked the place and returned back to the castle but had felt that something was off. He couldn't sleep well and at next day he returned to the Water Temple.

The yesterday hadn't been dream since his darker self was still there. They talked again and this time the atmosphere was bit easier. Link returned back to the Temple day after day again just to talk with his darker counterpart and eventually the darkness got a name. It hadn't been meant to happen but it just slipped from Link when he next time greeted him.

"Hey, Dark! Seems like you're still stuck in one and same room." Link called after a month of daily visits at the Water Temple. The darker Hylian had been startled and just stared at his visitor. Link looked bit confused. "Did I say something wrong?" He asked carefully.

It took a long while from the darker Hylian to get his voice to work. "You called me _Dark_." He replied more confused than angry. This time it took a while from Link before he realized what his darker self had said.

The second the words hit, Link chuckled nervously and brought scratched the back of his head. "I... Don't know where that came from..." He replied slightly chuckling.

The darker Hylian frowned bit angrily. "I think you do know where it came from." He stated while crossing his arms over his chest. Link became a bit more nervous about the situation. He was just going to apologize and come up with good enough explanation, when his darker self surprised him. "Actually... I like that name." The darker Hylian said with a wide grin. Link sighed in relief and nodded happily.

Link returned from his memories back to Epona's stable when another wave of pain hit into his chest. He nearly fell into his knees by the shock. Epona neighed desperately and shook her head several times. She would've loved to get to her hind legs but feared to hurt Link. The Hero clutched at the mare's mane to keep himself upright.

Epona laid carefully down. Link came down with her and he raised his gaze up from the mane. His looked out of the window high at the stables and saw dark clouds coming. The pain had gotten easier to bare and Link rose shaking up. Epona neighed worriedly and the Hero patted her on the head before going to climb up to the window.

The sky was getting lighter but the dark clouds were bringing a snowstorm. He already saw the snowflakes flying down from the sky. It was still easy and quite fluffy looking but it would be a real storm by the dawn.

Link came back down just in time before the next pain struck at him. He gasped in shock and fell to his knees. Epona neighed in panic and shook her head in hopes of getting rid of the pain. Link shut his eyes and concentrated in breathing. The feeling was harder than any of the wounds and broken bones he had ever gotten during his work of saving Hyrule. This was even worse than what he felt when he killed his darker counterpart at the Water Temple.

_"I can't let it beat me. I can take this!"_ Link thought and opened his eyes. He rose back to his feet with the help of the ladders and tried to breath calmly. He turned his eyes to Epona and walked to her. That short walk was taking lot of energy from him, but Link didn't care. He didn't want anyone to see that something was thoroughly wrong with him.

"Epona." Link called with shaking voice. He breathed few times in deep to try and get his voice stronger. The mare rose to her feet while neighing sadly and desperately. "I know how you feel, Epona, but we need to be stronger than the given pain." The Hero whispered while trying to calm his beloved horse. Epona just nodded. "Stay strong. I'll come back soon but I need to check the castle and few other places. There's a storm coming and it would be good if everything's ready for it." Link explained carefully.

Link fought hard when the next wave of pain came. He needed to stay up and get things done. "Stay strong, Epona." He called to the mare before leaving the stables. Walking was hard and he just barely stayed up on his feet but he just grit his teeth and kept going.

The castle was huge but it also gave Link a chance to stay out of sight for long enough. He checked the windows and doors on his way to make sure they were shut tightly. The Hero left few notes here and there to tell off that he had checked the area and that there was a snowstorm coming.

It was still several hours before the dawn when Link managed to get the whole castle checked. He didn't go inside the rooms where someone actually lived but he checked the unused places. After the castle was secured, Link gave a fast visit to Epona before leaving to the market. He left a small note about the upcoming storm to the places where he knew that people were living at.

Link returned back to the stables after securing the market. He contemplated about leaving to inform other places like Kakariko Village and Kokiri Forest about the storm but decided against it. He was sure that the Gorons would inform the people of Kakariko Village and that the Great Deku Tree would look after the Kokiris. Not to mention that the Gerudos were probably going to be left without even slight notice about the storm. And there was also the fact of them living at houses that were done into a mountain.

The storm hit hard to Hyrule. It would've freaked anyone out if Link hadn't taken the precautions for it. Zelda was actually the first to come and thank him. She also was eager to know how he had noticed about it and been actually awake early enough to get everything ready.

Link didn't fully face Zelda because he knew that she would notice that something was wrong. "I just couldn't sleep and came down here to check up on Epona. She was really worried so I stayed here for a while. I just happened to look out of the window and noticed the storm clouds." Link explained with a shrug. "And I would like to stay here for Epona's comfort." He continued while grooming Epona's mane. Link had noticed a long time ago that it actually helped the mare to calm down a bit.

Zelda nodded and left. She needed to make sure that the food preparations were going to be done none the less. And she needed to look after everyone else who was either looking for shelter from the storm or just scared to death about it. The princess had noticed that Link wasn't in his best condition but she hadn't said a word about it.

The storm raged through the day and continued long into the night. Link didn't return into his room and instead he just stayed with Epona through the whole day and night. He chose to go check the places once the storm would be over and the day would have risen.

The firs spell that hit the dark Hylian got him to fly backwards straight into a wall. Dark cried out in pain and crashed to the ground. He was gasping for air and leaning against the wall behind him when he opened his eyes. The second spell was already coming straight at him and he didn't have time to avoid or block it.

Dark screamed in agony and crashed to the ground. He tried to get up once most of the pain had stopped. He only managed to push himself bit off of the floor when the third strike came.

The dark Hylian was withering at the floor and gasping for air. The pain lasted longer than before and he just barely heard the sorcerer come closer. "I'll let you gather your strength for a while." He said, pulled a chair and sat down. Dark flinched a bit at the screeching noise of the chair.

"Is... Is this... the... only way?" Dark asked between gasps of air. He opened his red eyes that were filled with pain.

"I'm afraid it is." The sorcerer replied after a while of thinking. Dark just sighed and nodded. It took a long while before he managed to push himself up from the floor. The dark Hylian stayed a while on all four before sitting upright. "Are you ready?" The sorcerer questioned but didn't give Dark time to reply. The strike came out of blue and Dark fell screaming backwards into the floor.

"If this is all you can take, then you will never match the Hero, shadow." The sorcerer said disappointed. Dark growled and forced himself up. He stared quite angrily at the man. The sorcerer grinned and nodded. "That's the spirit." He stated and without a warning send the next spell on.

Dark brought his hands in front of his face for protection but it had no effect. The spell hit on full force none the less. Dark screamed while flying backwards and crashed against a chair. "Weak." The sorcerer said while shaking his head.

Dark groaned and grit his teeth while getting up from the floor. He just barely managed to get ready for the next strike. This time he slid backwards but didn't fly or fall. The pain was equally unbearable as the first strike had been but Dark fought against it. He still nearly screamed in agony.

They kept on going. Dark fell time to time but he forced himself back up. The pain was nearly constant and once in a while the dark Hylian wished he could've just stayed on the floor. The spells varied in size but each harbored the same amount of pain within them. The longer it went the better Dark managed to take the pain.

The sorcerer grinned evilly and sent his biggest spell so far. Dark, having gotten used to the size differences, thought to be ready for it but he wasn't ready at all. The spell hit even harder than the first had been. The dark Hylian nearly stopped breathing when it struck. The strength of the spell got him to fly through the air and hit back first into a wall.

Dark fell to the ground with a pained groan without being able catch himself. On the second he hit the floor, he was unconscious. The sorcerer walked to him and slightly kicked the limb body. "This will be lot of fun..." He whispered before turning around and going back into the darkness.

Even the stallion had fallen unconscious. The pain wasn't as harsh as it was with Dark but Storm felt it too. The horse had been neighing nearly constantly but the pain had held him in one place and he had stared in fear how his master took a strike after a strike of the spell.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 11

Link didn't sleep much at that night. He spend it thoroughly with Epona and the mare had fallen asleep at some point of the night. Link had just dozed off few times but that was all. The pain had left but pure worry had replaced it.

Most of the night Link had just watched the storm rage outside of the castle and listened to its howls. He was grateful at the point for the fact that Dark didn't feel the cold. It was also his only source of comfort while trying to keep the pain off of affecting him.

Link stood up at Epona's stable once the storm was getting weaker. The mare woke up by the movement and neighed slightly. "Don't worry. I'll be right back." Link whispered before leaving the stables. He went straight to his own room to change clothes and get a slight bath. Right after that he returned to Epona's side.

Few hours after the morning had started, the storm had calmed down. Link took Epona out of the stables and left to check the Hyrule. The market place was filled with snow but that was the only thing different. He talked with few who had dared to leave their homes and got the needed information. Everything was alright at the market place.

Straight from there Link continued his way to Kakariko Village. The people had gotten the warning early and the Gorons had retreated into the warmest room of their home. Death Mountain had actually provided some shelter from the worst part of the storm. The snow had mainly been sleet instead of hail.

Link left the village as soon as he had made sure that everything was alright. He didn't need to go up to the Gorons since he knew them to have taken shelter early enough. From Kakariko Village Link continued to Kokiri Forest. Since the Zora's Domain was frozen and not easy to get as well as inside a mountain, it was bound to be in safe from any kind of storms.

Epona galloped quite fast towards the forest. Link wanted to check all of the places as fast as he could in case someone was actually needing help. That and the fear for Dark's condition since the pain had started all over again an hour ago. It wasn't as hard as it had been in the start but it was notable.

Epona skidded to a stop right in front of the tree trunk that was used as an entryway to the Kokiri Forest. Link jumped off of the mare, ran inside to the bridge and through it. He sighed in relief when he came out of the second tree trunk.

The Kokiris were actually playing in the fresh new snow. There were already few snowmen done and most of the paths from house to house. The road to the Young Great Deku Tree was also cleared from snow so Link was sure that the snow over the tree sapling was also taken off. "Seems like everything's fine in here." Link whispered to himself and nodded to few who had actually noticed him.

The Hero left the area before the children of the forest were able to ask him to play with them. Once out of sight, Link ran to Epona and got up as fast as he could. The reddish mare left to gallop but before she chose the way to Lon Lon Ranch in the knee deep new snow, Link took the way towards Lake Hylia. He couldn't wait longer.

Epona wasn't too happy about the change of plan but did as she was told to. The mare jumped over the fences gracefully and galloped straight to the shore. "DARK! ARE YOU HERE?!" Link shouted straight off as loudly as he could. The only answer he got was the cold wind. He didn't see his dark counterpart anywhere. "DARK!" Link shouted again but nothing.

He looked around for a while before turning Epona towards the bridges and straight to the island. Link still didn't see any signs of Dark and so he kept on calling. There still was no answer and the Hero was getting anxious. "Dark! Don't freaking fool with me! Get out of the shadows on this second!" Link screamed out but still no answer.

The Hero of Hyrule jumped off of Epona and ran to the ice. He didn't care how many times he was going to slip on the ice that had few inches thick snow layer above it. Link ran to the place where he was sure to see the entrance of Water Temple.

He dropped to his knees and started to push the snow off of his way. Link knew that Dark wasn't anywhere inside the Temple but the dark counterpart always freaked him out at that same place. He got the snow off and saw the Temple. Link waited but there was no-one around. No-one scared him by coming out of nowhere behind him and start to talk.

Link sighed defeated. Dark wasn't either answering just to fool with him or then he truly wasn't anywhere around. He walked back to Epona and got up quietly. Link looked once again around the place but still didn't see even a slight notion of Dark. "You gotta be okay, Dark..." Link whispered quietly while turning Epona towards the bridges.

Epona trotted slowly back to the main shore. She stopped and turned to look at the small island that wasn't connected anyway to other places but had two pillars on there. Link followed the mare's gaze but still had no sign of Dark. "He's not here, Epona." He whispered and turned the reddish mare towards the gates.

Epona jumped over the gates without a problem. Link rode to Lon Lon Ranch and Epona was actually happy about it. She trotted quite fast forward and Link didn't stop her at all. He was thinking whole time about Dark and the fact he hadn't answered at all when Link had called him.

_"He just wasn't around..."_ Link thought sadly. _"But _where_ is he? He's never left Lake Hylia without knowing to meet me somewhere so this is way too strange."_ He continued while getting even more worried about the situation.

Epona neighed to get Link's notion. They had reached the path to the ranch. Link petted the mare and tried to look more happier than what he felt. Malon was again at the stables while Talon was sleeping at their home. The storm luckily hadn't done any of damage but the animals had gotten scared. Malon had guessed it to happen and went through the storm into the stables. She was still humming to them when Link came in.

"Hey, Malon." Link greeted while closing the door behind him and Epona. The young woman was startled and turned around real fast.

"Link!" She called happily once she got through the first shock. "I'm glad to see you here. The storm truly scared the animals." Malon said while walking to her friend. "You look a bit worried. Are you alright?" She continued when she noticed Link's look.

Link chuckled bit nervously. "I'm just tired. Didn't sleep much at last night because I was worried about everyone." He replied. It wasn't fully the truth but neither was it a lie. Malon nodded.

"If you want, you could get some rest before you leave." She suggested. Link shook his head.

"Sorry, but I need to check Gerudo Fortress before night falls in. I just came to check that everything's fine in here." He said bit sadly. Malon nodded.

"I can understand that. And no, the storm didn't do any damage. Just scared everyone in here but they've calmed down by now." She replied and walked back to her usual place. "I'll calm them down a bit more before I head back inside. It's getting dark soon." Malon continued and took one carrot from close by bucket. "Here!" She called and threw it towards Link.

The Hero wasn't fast enough to catch the carrot but Epona was. She took the treat happily and nodded her thanks. Malon giggled at the act and even Link chuckled a little. "Thanks. I know Epona appreciates that. I'll come over sooner or later again." Link called before heading out of the place. Malon nodded before she started her humming again.

Link closed the door behind him, got up on Epona's back and left the ranch. After the small path Link chose the way towards Gerudo Fortress. He was sure there was nothing to worry about but it didn't hurt to check it too. The mare started a fast gallop so they'd reach the place faster.

Epona slowed into a trot when they got to the rocky part of the road. Then she jumped over the bridge plank since even though it did hold her weight, she wasn't willing to trust it at all. For the mare's luck the bridge wasn't swinging so getting it crossed was easy task this time. Soon after that the horse took up a faster trot than before to reach the fortress slightly faster.

No-one was actually out at the time so Link jumped off of Epona and went inside. He didn't need to go too far to find first of the guards. "Link, nice to see you around." She said once she noticed him come closer.

Link nodded. "I don't know if you guys noticed but there was a snowstorm at Hyrule during yesterday and last night. That is actually the reason I came to check up in here." He explained straight off.

"A snowstorm?" The guard asked bit surprised. "It sure didn't hit into here. Is everything alright around Hyrule?" She continued bit worriedly. Link nodded.

"Yeah, no worries. It mainly just brought lots of new snow but didn't do any damage." Link replied and nodded towards the way he had come from. "Since all's fine in here, I probably should leave. The night is coming soon and I'd rather get over the bridge before dark." He continued.

"I understand that. Just come to visit here at some time when you actually have more of time to stay longer." She said with a slight wink. Link blushed slightly, nodded and turned around. He waved his hand while walking out of the place. He could hear her laughter on the way out.

Link rode in silence back to the castle. He was worried for Dark and actually wanted to go back to Lake Hylia but couldn't. The darkness was already falling down when Epona came out of the rocky area. The Hero just glanced towards the lake and sighed sadly before turning Epona towards the castle.

While Link was checking the places and making sure that everyone was alright, Dark was still unconscious. The hit had been hard and the spell had taken lot from him. When the evening started to fall down, Dark groaned in pain and moved a bit.

The sorcerer had stayed at one and same place whole time. He had watched his guest lay unconscious on the hard floor. The man started to grin when Dark finally showed signs of waking up.

"Took you long enough." The sorcerer said while shaking his head. "On this way you will never be solid nor matching the Hero at all." He continued and stood up. "Get up so we can continue." He commanded harshly.

Dark gulped in fear and forced himself up. He groaned in pain and staggered a bit once he got to his feet. The sorcerer sighed and threw a spell at him. The dark Hylian hadn't been ready at all and he fell screaming back to the floor when the spell struck. "Pathetic. Just plain _pathetic_." The sorcerer stated while walking to Dark's side.

Dark opened his pain filled eyes and was startled when the sorcerer was right next to him. The man crouched down with an evil smirk on his face. He brought his hand to Dark's throat and took a good grip while standing up. Dark's eyes flew open in pure fear when the sorcerer lifted him off of the ground. He started to fight back and gasp for air when the grip tightened. Suddenly Dark screamed in agony when the sorcerer cast the one and same spell again at him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 12

Link woke up screaming. He clutched at his throat in shock and fear while panting. He stared in the dark room right in front of him without seeing much in particularly. _"Dark, what in goddesses name is going on?"_ Link thought desperately.

Suddenly there came worried voices and fast footsteps. Link sat up and suddenly remember that he had decided to stay the night at the stables. On that second the door to the stables opened up and Zelda came in with few guards. "Link! What happened?!" She questioned straight off.

Link breathed once deeply to calm himself down. "Nothing. Nothing at all." He started as calmly as he could. "I'm sorry to wake everyone up but I only had a nightmare." The Hero continued with a shrug and slight chuckle.

The guards sighed in relief and turned around to head back to their posts. Zelda stayed at the doorway and stared at the Hero of Hyrule. "Are you sure about it, Link?" She questioned and Link nodded.

"Yeah, sorry to worry." He replied and smiled a bit. "Just go back to bed. It's still middle of the night." Link continued with carefree voice. The princess looked at him worriedly but eventually nodded. She really didn't want to leave Link alone since he seemed to still be out of his normally calm self. Not to mention his carefree and happy nature hadn't been yet fully returned and usually things were lot better at this time of the month.

"Alright. Good night, Link." Zelda called and left the stables. Once Link was sure that she had left and couldn't hear her footsteps anymore, he sighed in relief. It had been close but he had managed through it.

Link sat down shivering in fear and worry. He rubbed at his throat before coughing. The feeling of being strangled came back and breathing became hard. _"Shit! What is this hell?!"_ Link thought in pure panic. None of the enemies had ever fought like this before. And it didn't help that with the feeling of being strangled came pure agony.

Link was fighting for air while trying to push the pain off of his mind. As suddenly as it all had started it also stopped. The Hero gasped for air and tried to calm down. Epona was worried and neighed nearly constantly. She had stayed quiet when Zelda and the guards had come over but right after that her worry returned.

Link forced himself up from the floor and he walked to the closest wall to lean against. He closed his eyes in attempt of getting the hold of the new feeling. He had no idea what was going on but his thoughts went time after time again back to Dark. Deep inside the Hero knew that his dark counterpart was going through something wrong and that he himself was feeling just portion of what Dark was actually feeling.

When the morning started to rise, the feeling was getting easier to cope with. The pain was there but the strangulation was gone. Link managed to head to his work and this time he took Epona with him. Silver could rest for one day and Link was actually feeling bit better when the reddish mare was with him.

The Hero decided to stay close to the castle and work around the market as long as he could which meant just the amount of packets to deliver. Link took it easy and tried to stay calm and collected while deep inside he was confused and scared about what was going on. After taking the packets around the market and castle, the next place was to Kakariko Village.

Things went well at the small village next to Death Mountain. Link even had few packets to the Gorons. This gave him slight time to think about something else while working his way through the mountain. The Gorons were quite sleepy but they were also happy to see Link again.

From there, after returning few packets to the post office and take new ones along, Link's road led him to Kokiri Forest. The start went well and Link even managed to feel slightly happier than for the couple last days. He exchanged few words with the children of the forest and was actually starting to calm down from the shock he had had early in the morning.

Then, half way through of sharing, things went wrong. The pain was worse than what he had felt in the first time. He screamed out while crashing to his knees. Link threw his arms around himself while shutting his eyes tightly. He was panting and gasping for air while falling forward so his forehead was touching the cold snow. Epona was neighing in pure fear, worry and panic.

The pain came with different feeling. The feeling was nearly same what Link had felt when he had killed Dark on their first meeting. The feeling of losing part of oneself. But this time it was worse and stronger. It wasn't just part of dying but something being ripped off of him.

The Kokiris were shocked. First they were quiet out of the shock of Link screaming in pain and crashing to ground. Right after the first shock came panic and fear. They called the Hero's name over and over while few ran around without knowing what to do. Few left to the Young Great Deku Tree for help. No-one dared to touch Link and couple talked about getting help, yet no-one dared to leave the forest.

Link fell to his side while gasping for air. The pain was already fainting but the feeling of losing part of himself was still there. Epona pushed Link with her snout a bit while neighing in worry. Link opened his eyes slightly and carefully brought his other hand to Epona's snout. He didn't say anything but looked straight into Epona's eyes and the mare stood still while waiting his owner to gain his strength back.

Eventually Link sat up. He was still panting slightly but not fighting for air. The Kokiris stopped fussing and just stared at Link . They waited for him to explain what just had happened. Link closed his eyes while trying to figure out what really had happened and searching for good enough explanation for the sudden crashing and screaming.

"Link?" One of the Kokiris questioned quietly. "Are you alright, Link?" She continued and took few steps closer to the Hero. Link breathed deep once before nodding slowly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He whispered quietly and opened his eyes. The Kokiris were still waiting and watching at him worriedly. Link stood up with slight help from Epona. "Sorry that I worried you guys." He continued and chuckled bit nervously. "One old wound just decided to remind about itself." Link continued and smiled then. "It's nothing bad but it comes back to bite me when I least expect it."

Kokiris sighed in relief and nodded sympathetically. "Just try to treat it somehow to make it heal fully." One of the Kokiris suggested and Link nodded.

"Yeah, I do try to do that but sometimes I just forget when it's not reminding me." He replied and climbed up to the cart. "So, shall we continue sharing the packets?" Link questioned smiling while picking up one and reading a name from there.

Rest of the work went well but once he returned from Kokiri Forest, Link called it a day. He explained to the owner of the post office that he had something to be done and it can't wait longer. Right after that Link rode out of the market into the fields. He wanted to go to Lake Hylia but knew that Dark wasn't going to be there. Instead he just rode around deep in thought and let Epona choose the way and speed.

When Link had been fighting for air, Dark was doing the exact same thing. The grip around his throat was tight and the spell was getting him to scream in agony. The black stallion rose to his hind legs and jumped forward. He was ready to head for his master's help but the stallion had to skid into a stop when the sorcerer threw Dark right in front of the horse. Dark was gasping for air while lying on the ground. "Keep that beast out of this if you want to get this to work." The sorcerer hissed.

Dark raised his hand to show to Storm to stay off of this. The horse stared in fear and neighed desperately back. He pawed the floor and shook his head but stayed put. The sorcerer walked to other side of the room and let Dark get back to his feet.

Once the dark Hylian had gotten up, the spell struck him again. It's speed got Dark to fly nearly to a wall but he fell down before it and skidded back first into the wall. Storm neighed in fear and worry but didn't move from his place. The pain had been replaced with these two other strong feelings. The sorcerer walked back to Dark and raised him again by throat before casting another spell. Dark screamed in pure agony while trying desperately get free from the grip.

The dark Hylian felt something start to break. Something right inside of him was trying to get free but Dark fought against the feeling. The inner fight was hard when one was choking and casting agonizing spells at him. Suddenly the choking ended and the dark Hylian only vaguely realized to be flying in the air. The feeling was soon replaced by pain when the next spell hit him in the mid-air.

Dark screamed and hit the floor hard. The spells were stronger and more painful. He could hear the sorcerer come closer but the constant spells were keeping him from moving. "Just let go. That is the only way this will take effect. You are fighting against the wrong thing." The sorcerer said.

Dark kept his eyes closed and tried to fight back the feelings. The pain of something being ripped off of him was getting stronger after each spell. The dark Hylian just barely felt the sorcerer's hand over his chest until the spell was cast all over again. Dark screamed and trashed but the man was holding him down to the floor.

Suddenly the pain came overwhelming and Dark shot his eyes open. Something was ripped right off of him. That something was right behind him but the sorcerer had moved him to his side, so Dark couldn't see what had been taken off of him. He was gasping for air and feeling a part of him missing. "That's it... Just a bit longer..." The sorcerer whispered and cast the spell at him. Dark grit his teeth and tried not to scream. The feeling of loss was getting stronger and he felt bits and pieces get ripped off of him.

Eventually Dark fell unconscious and went limp. The sorcerer stood up, cast few more times the spell into Dark before walking right behind him. Storm had also lost consciousness during the spells. The man took something off of the ground and left with it into the next room.

Dark woke up late in the night and pushed himself up really slowly. He was weak and tired. And for first time in his whole life he was feeling cold and was shivering while sitting on the floor. "You can go now. It's over and done." The sorcerer said from the darkness of the house.

Dark's eyes shot open and he looked in fear around. He didn't find the sorcerer from anywhere but he had heard him. "But... What about the payment?" He questioned carefully with weak voice. He heard slight laughter but still couldn't see the man.

"It's done. Now go." Came the harsh reply and Dark just nodded. He walked with shaking steps to the door. Storm followed equally shaking and Dark rose to the stallion's back after closing the door.

"Let's get home..." Dark whispered quietly while heading back towards Lake Hylia. The night was cold and Dark was shivering badly so he leaned close to his stallion. Storm neighed for response and slightly fastened his pace but the walk was still shaky and he slipped few times. The stallion was lucky enough to stay upright whole time.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 13

Link had slept restlessly at that night. There hadn't been any of pain or strange feelings but that worried him even more. He also felt something missing but it was just a ghost of a feeling. Most of the time Link managed to move it out of his mind but sometimes it came back.

The Hero wanted to get himself occupied with something to keep the feeling out of his mind. That was the reason he went to check the board of things to be done. Link checked it thoroughly through and eventually found of the castle's rooms needing cleaning. No-one had yet started it and he had whole night time to do something. Not too happy about the actual work but happy enough to get something else to be thought about, Link went to fetch what he needed for his cleaning work.

The night went well in cleaning and the strange feeling of loss had been left out of notion. Link was also happy that there were no new pain filled feelings but that also worried him. He still had no idea what Dark had gone through but he knew for certain that his darker counterpart was still alive. The reason for such certainty was the knowledge of the feeling of loss being lot stronger had Dark actually been killed.

When the morning rose, Link left to his work of being deliveryman. He took Epona along again because he wanted to have chance to talk to the reddish mare. Day's first delivery place was Lon Lon Ranch.

Since it was Saturday, Link was anxious. He wished that the day would be over already so the Sunday would come faster. Epona then again was anxious to get back to the ranch to see Malon and get to talk with her friends.

Link was actually happy that he had taken up on the deliveryman's work. He had managed to get most already delivered and there wasn't much left at the post office. That small fact gave him a chance to spend time with Malon and that also helped him to leave his worries and slightly aching heart at rest. He had already told to the owner of the post office that he was taking the next day off.

Epona reached the ranch quite fast. Talon was actually doing some cleaning up at the house and saw Link come. The owner of the ranch came out of the house to greet Link. "Hey there. If you're looking for Malon, she's at the stables." He said smiling.

"Actually I came to bring a delivery." Link answered and pointed to the cart. Talon nodded and came to help with the deliveries.

"Let's see in here." He whispered while starting to go through the information that was written into the side of the packets. "Half of these are actually coming to the house and rest to the stables." Talon said after a while.

"I thought something like that." Link replied and came next to Talon. "I'll help you to get the packets inside." He continued and picked the first packet up. Talon nodded happily and took another one before going to open the door.

"Just leave it somewhere where you find room for it." Talon said while putting the packet down. Link nodded and followed Talon's example. They went to fetch next packet and soon half of the cart was empty. "I'll go check the packets and see if there's something to be send from us." The owner of the ranch said, waved to Link and returned inside.

Link went to open the door to the stables and led Epona inside. The stable was lot warmer than staying outside and it was also easier to unpack the cart. After he had closed the door behind them, Link realized one simple thing. There was no humming anywhere around.

The Hero walked to Epona's other side and looked around. Malon was nowhere to be seen. "Malon? Are you here?" Link called but got no answer. He went to check the horses but none was missing. "She hasn't left for a ride..." Link whispered to no-one in particularly. The two cows were in their places and neither was actually needing anything. The cuckoos were going on their own around the place but on quick count there seemed to be everyone around.

"Malon?!" Link called again but there still was no answer. He was getting worried about the situation so he headed back towards the door. "I'll be right back, Epona." The Hero told to the mare before going out. He ran over the short distance between the house and barn.

Link was just going to open the door when it opened up on its own. He stepped backwards and stared at Malon who had just opened the door. "Malon?" Link asked bit surprised.

The young woman giggled a bit. "Yeah?" She replied smiling. Link sighed in relief and calmed down.

"Talon said you were at the stables but I didn't find you. I was just going to tell about it to your father but that doesn't seem to be important anymore..." Link said and realized to be talking way too much already. He eventually shut up and chuckled bit nervously.

"You got worried about me?" Malon asked while heading to the stable. Link just nodded and the girl giggled again. "How sweet." She said smiling. "I had gone inside to get something to eat and didn't hear you come." Malon continued and turned to look at Link.

The Hero blushed a bit and chuckled slightly. "Well, I'm here just to bring a delivery." He replied and knew it was quite a lame response. Malon laughed, opened the door to the stable and went inside Link closely behind. He closed the door after himself. "So, where should I put the packets?" Link questioned willing to change the subject.

Malon smiled while looking around. Eventually she nodded towards far off corner next to the cows. "That's probably a good place for them." She answered. Link nodded and started to guide Epona towards the place. After that he started to take the packets off of the cart.

Malon watched closely Link's work. The Hero tried not to show how much it did bother him and concentrated into his work thoroughly. "Can I help?" Malon eventually asked.

"Nah, I got this." Link replied smiling. "But if you want, you could start to unpack them or at least check if you have something to be mailed to somewhere in Hyrule." He continued quite fast since he didn't want her to think there was nothing to be done in favor of helping.

"Sounds like a good idea!" Malon shouted, clapped her hands and went to the packets. Suddenly she remembered that she didn't have anything to open them with and ran to other side of the barn. Link looked bit surprised at her but smiled widely when she came back with a crowbar. "I need something to open them." Malon said giggling and Link nodded with slight grin.

Link spent the day at Lon Lon Ranch. He did few new snowmen with Malon and helped with the work around the ranch. Talon did a nice meal and Link actually stayed over for the food but left quite soon after that. The night was starting to fall and he actually wanted to return the cart back to the post office. Talon checked few packets of milk and other supplies to other places like Kakariko Village and the castle.

While Link spend his day at the castle and at Lon Lon Ranch, Dark was on his way back to Lake Hylia. The road was long and bit slippery from time to time in the forest. Storm knew his way but he was actually eager to just stop and rest but Dark kept on keeping him going. "Storm, hurry up and get us to Lake Hylia." Dark whispered quietly.

Closer to the evening Dark fell unconscious. The stallion neighed bit in panic but didn't get a response from Dark. Storm fastened his pace and in his mind was only few sentences: _"Get back to Lake Hylia! Find Link! Link can help!"_ When the evening started to turn into night, the air got colder and Dark started to shiver even more. As time went past, he eventually fell thoroughly quiet on the stallion's back. Storm neighed in panic and tried to fasten his pace without fearing to fall and hurt himself and his master.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

Also, I have next chapter of Dark's thought's up! Go read how he feels!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 14

When Link woke up at that day, he knew exactly what he was up for doing. He changed clothes real fast and took up a backpack. The Hero gathered some things he needed like few blankets and extra clothes. After that he went to the kitchen and was actually happy to see it empty.

Link started to do some sandwiches before taking few bottles of milk and other food supplies. Once he was ready with the snack for the whole day, he went to the stables. "Today we're going to see Dark. So, Lake Hylia's our destination and I won't leave the place until I've met him." Link explained to Epona while finding some things that he knew the mare to be needing in the cold air. He took few rugs, carrots and apples and put them into the pack.

Once he was ready with preparations, Link went to get Epona out of the stable. He rode as quietly as possible out of the stable, through the market and into the fields. After getting over the bridge, Link got Epona to gallop and straight towards Lake Hylia. _"I'm coming, Dark. You'd better be there then!"_ Link thought with a smile on his face.

Epona galloped to the fences and jumped over them and Link slowed her down once they got far enough into the area. "Dark!" Link called straight off and waited for an answer. There was nothing aside from the slight wind. "Well, guess his not here yet..." Link thought and jumped off of Epona. He walked close to the ice and leaned against the small fence where the scarecrow had once been.

Link put the backpack down and picked up a small stick from the ground. While waiting for Dark's return he started to draw small stick figures into the snow. Once in a while he brushed new snow into the area by his foot and started all over again. Epona was walking around and pawed the snow several times while in search of frozen grass. She still watched once in a while around and checked where Link actually was.

As the time went by, Link moved around some times to keep himself warm. He took out his sword and started to practice few moves and think out new ones on the progress. When the sunrise came Link finally heard the sound of hoofs from the other side of the lake. _"Finally."_ Link thought grinning and turned to look towards the sound.

The horse that came out of the dark forest was a total shock to Link. He couldn't recognize the stallion to be Dark's Storm but deep inside he knew. He just knew it to be Storm even though it didn't remind the stallion at all.

The horse was bit in panic and weary. It's mane was by the color of silver and the fur was black with midnight blue instead of pitch black. The stallion slipped on the second it stepped to the ice which was far from what Storm had been like. The stallion Link remembered had been able to gallop on the ice without even one slip. And it didn't even let Link touch it at all.

"No..." Link whispered before already starting to run towards the horse. "No, no, no, no... This can't be..." He continued in pure fear. Link ran to the ice without caring how many times he was going to slip. He just stood back up and continued running.

After the horse had gotten half out of the forest, Link saw Dark lying on the stallion's back. Link had never seen Dark lay like that and the scene got the Hero's blood run ice cold. Even more shocking was when the black stallion slipped, neighed in horror and fell to the ice.

Dark fell off of the horse but didn't move even one bit. "NOO!" Link screamed and tried his best to run faster. The horse was trying to get up but his hoofs kept slipping in the ice. Link dropped down and skidded the last few meters next to Dark.

"DARK!" Link screamed in fear. "Wake up, Dark! WAKE UP!" He kept screaming while pushing the darker Hylian time after time again. Dark only moaned slightly but that was all he did or said. "No..." Link whispered and turned to Storm.

"Calm down, Storm, calm down!" Link half shouted while trying to keep his voice calm. He stood up and took a grip of the stallion's reins. Link petted the horse. "I'm here, Storm, calm down. Everything's going to be alright." He whispered and finally got the horse to calm down a bit.

Right after that Link turned back to Dark. He took the limp body up and placed him over Storm's back. While holding tightly to Dark, Link helped the stallion up. "Nice and easy, Storm. Step by step." Link said to the horse and started to guide him out of the ice.

Storm followed Link's command and walked forward one step at a time. He was going to slip few times but Link was fast to react. He took a tighter grip on Dark and either pushed or pulled on the reins to keep the horse on balance.

Eventually, after a long and slow walk, Link got Storm to the shore. Epona had been neighing desperately at the shore and Storm had answered. The mare had been encouraging the stallion to keep on going and Link was grateful about the small help.

Link kept guiding the stallion forward but this time slightly faster. He made sure that Dark was still on and wasn't on verge of falling. The Hero went to the scientist's house and let go of the reins to search for right key into the house. Once he found the key, he was fast to open the door and get Storm inside.

The house had gathered some dust but the worst part was the water tank at the back of the house. It was deep and fully in ice. The actual reason for it not been emptied of water was because of the long drop to bottom. It just simply would be too dangerous to leave empty so the water froze along with the lake.

Link took Dark off of Storm and carefully laid him down to the floor. "Just a while, I'll be right back." Link said in desperation and went to the door. "Epona!" Link called and the mare came to him in a second. "Get the backpack, I need to do few things." Link nearly pleaded from the reddish mare and Epona neighed in response.

Link left the door slightly open before going back inside. He went through the whole house and found a bed from second floor. Without hesitation he took the bed sheets, blanket and pillow from the bed and returned to first floor. He went straight to Dark and wrapped him into the coldish blanket before starting run his hands up and down around him. While trying desperately to get Dark warmer and to shiver, he looked around the house.

Epona came back carrying the backpack. She dropped it next to Link and neighed. The Hero was slightly surprised and looked at the mare. "Thanks, Epona." He called quietly and nodded to Storm. "Help him to get warm, please." Link continued and Epona nodded.

The reddish mare walked to the stallion and neighed. They laid down on the floor and Epona went behind Storm. Link finally found what he was looking for and carefully laid Dark down before going to the carpet. He took it up and dragged it to the ice. Link placed the carpet over the ice and fetched another carpet next to it. It at least concealed some cold from the ice.

"I'll be right back." Link whispered, glanced once sadly to Dark before running out of the house. He closed the door and ran to the darkish forest while taking his sword out. "Sorry..." Link whispered before he started to cut down the younger and slimmer trees. After having enough of firewood, he sheathed his sword and gathered the cut down trees.

Link ran back to the house, opened the door with bit difficulty and shut it by kicking it close. He dropped the wood next to the fire place before throwing in some of them. Right after that he used well practiced Din's Fire to light the wood.

Once there was fire in the fireplace, Link returned to Dark and started to try and get him warm again. Soon he remembered something really important, opened the backpack and took out few rugs from there. He took them to Storm and threw them over the stallion's back.

After securing the horses, Storm especially, Link returned to Dark. This time there was nothing that could get him to move away from the dark Hylian. While hugging Dark close to his chest and running his hands up and down around him, Link finally had time to think about something that had bothered him from the second he had seen Dark on Storm's back.

Dark looked different from what Link had seen for the past six years. His hair was lighter, something between light and dark grey. The skin was paler and bit grayish compared to Link's own skin. And the clothes had the same midnight blue that was on the stallion's black fur.

"What the heck you've gone through, Dark?" Link whispered quietly while laying his head over Dark's. The Hero talked quietly once in a while. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say but few sentences were still there that he repeated more often than not: "It's going to be okay, Dark. I'm here. You're safe now. You gotta get better..."

While trying his best to get Dark to warm up, Link started to think about the time they had spent together. The first thing that came into his mind was how different Storm had been on the ice. He remembered that one simple day when Dark had asked him to try and catch Storm.

At first it had been just simple follow and try your best on the solid ground but soon the stallion had moved to ice. Link watched bit amazed how the horse just walked on the ice without worry in the world. The slippery ice had no effect on the horse.

Link followed carefully to the ice and tried to catch the stallion. Storm stayed whole time just slightly out of reach and soon Link was running after him. The Hero was slipping on the ice once in a while but the horse just walked on it like it was solid ground instead of ice.

Eventually Link managed to fool the stallion close enough. And then he bounced at the horse but went straight through it. Link had been totally surprised but continued the chase. But no matter how many times Link tried, Storm didn't let him touch him at all.

Link sighed sadly. He hadn't realized that he had actually talked that whole day out to Dark. The Hero just didn't know what to say and hoped that his voice could bring Dark back from where ever he had ended into.

Hours went past but at end Dark started to shiver. Link was startled but sighed in relief. He started to work even bit harder to keep the still darker Hylian warm. "That's it, Dark. Just come back from where ever you went." Link whispered bit smiling.

Eventually the shivering ended and Dark slept normally. His breathing was even and Link smiled a bit. He raised his head to stretch his neck and noticed that Storm was starting at him. Epona had laid her head over the stallion's back and was sleeping. Link smiled to the black horse. "You can sleep, Storm. Dark's going to be alright." Link whispered to the horse.

Storm stared at Link for a long while before neighing. He closed his eyes and laid his head down. Link wondered what the stallion had actually said and came to slight conclusion it being one of the next lines: _I trust you._ Or _I hope you're right_. Or _If you lie, you're going to be sorry._ Link hoped it to be either the first or second since he was sure that he'd never actually forgive himself if something happened to Dark during the upcoming night.

As the time went by Link actually became hungry but he refused from eating. He was going to save the done food for Dark when he'd wake up. And the Hero decided not to sleep at all during the next night since he wanted to make sure he was awake if Dark needed him. Link also hoped that Dark would either wake up or then say something about the one who was responsible about the situation.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 15

Link didn't sleep at all. He dozed off few times but woke up in seconds later. Dark was sleeping peacefully and just sifted slightly sometimes. Link whispered some things once in a while but kept his voice quiet sine he didn't want to wake Dark nor the horses.

The morning was rising when Dark finally woke up. He moved slightly and opened his eyes slowly while yawning. Link was startled and jolted awake. "Dark?" He called quietly. The darker Hylian stopped in mid-yawn and shot his eyes open.

Link sighed bit sadly and ran his arms up and down around Dark. He had no idea that Dark had actually woke up already. "You gonna be okay..." The Hero whispered quietly.

"Um... Link?" Dark questioned slightly confused. Link was startled again and he stopped on that second. Right after that he let go of the darker Hylian and moved right in front of him.

"Dark!" Link called eagerly and straight off hugged him. "You don't know how happy I am to see you awake!" He continued with a wide smile. Dark was slightly confused and embarrassed about the situation. He dropped his gaze down and became even more confused when he noticed that he couldn't move at all.

"Why am I tied up?" Dark asked while trying to get freed.

"Oh, that! It was just to keep you warm!" Link replied, pulled off and went back behind Dark. He started to untie the blanket and bed sheet. "I can, though, suggest to keep them around you." The Hero continued but once the blanket got loose, Dark nearly threw them off.

On the second the blanket was off, Dark gasped for air and pulled the blanket right back around him. Link was first shocked but after a while he started to laugh. "Oh, shut up!" Dark hissed angrily.

"I did warn you." Link replied and came back in front of the darker Hylian. Dark only snorted and just took the blanket closer to himself. Suddenly there was heard a slight growl and Dark looked more surprised than shocked. Even Link was surprised about it but soon he was grinning.

"What?!" Dark asked bit harshly. "I'm not feeling too good, though..." He continued soon and lowered his gaze to the floor. Link's grin didn't fade even one bit.

"I know how to fix that." He said and went to the backpack and started to go through it. Dark watched bit confused and was startled when the growling sound was heard again. After a while Link took out a sandwich and gave it Dark. "Here, eat this." Link said and represented the sandwich to Dark.

The darker Hylian took one hand out of the warmth of the blanket and took the given sandwich. He stared at the food for a while before finally taking a small bite out of it. Link turned around and watched bit worriedly at Dark's work.

After few small nibbles of the sandwich, he stopped for a while with a wondering look on his face. Then, suddenly, the look brightened and he devoured the food in few fast bites. Link laughed happily. "Hey, take it easy or you'll choke on it!" He half shouted.

Dark didn't listen but after having eaten the food he turned back to Link with bright eyes and smile on his face. "Is there more of this?" He asked eagerly. Link chuckled and nodded before turning back to the backpack and taking out next sandwich. Dark took it eagerly and started to eat it right away.

"I guess it would be good idea to give something to Storm too, huh?" Link questioned while continuing his work with the backpack. Dark stopped in midair and turned his surprised look into his stallion. Right after that he turned to look at Link.

"Is he going to eat same as I do?" Dark asked slightly puzzled. Link shook his head.

"Nope." He replied. "I know there are some carrots here somewhere..." Link mumbled quietly. "A-ha!" The Hero shouted and finally fished six carrots out of the backpack. He showed his findings to Dark before taking them to the horses. "Share them equally, okay?" Link asked while putting the carrots down in front of the horses.

Epona neighed and turned to the goods that was presented to them. Link turned his back to the horses and went back to Dark. While Link was having his back to the stallion and mare, Epona shared the food. She gave four out of six to the stallion and left only two for herself.

"Um... Link, isn't equal sharing meaning that both get same amount, right?" Dark questioned while watching the two horses. Link looked bit confused but nodded while sitting down in front of Dark. "Well, then that's not equal sharing." The darker Hylian continued and pointed to the horses.

Link was confused and turned around. Right after he saw how the carrots were shared, he grinned. "Yeah, well, Epona is probably thinking that Storm needs more food than she does." He replied and shrugged. "Besides, this is your stallion's first food in his whole life."

Dark was quiet for some time while thinking about Link's words. He slowly nodded and without much of thinking he continued his own meal. Link stayed quiet for a while before sighing. The darker Hylian was slightly surprised and turned his gaze to the Hero. "Link?" He called after swallowing the piece he was munching at.

Link raised his gaze up with slightly sad smile. Dark frowned and lowered his sandwich a bit. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly and slightly confused.

Link chuckled slightly and nodded. "Yeah... Just having few things in my mind." He replied quietly and moved next to the fireplace. He leaned against the rocky wall, sighed again and raised his gaze into the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?" Dark questioned carefully.

"Just..." Link started but shook his head sadly. He dropped his gaze into the floor before taking once a deep breath. After that the Hero raised his gaze up and his blue eyes met with red. "Who hurt you, Dark?" Link asked as firmly as he could.

Dark was surprised, slightly shocked and turned his gaze off. "It... It doesn't matter..." He whispered but soon his feelings were taken over by another feeling, feeling of anger and slight confusion. "How do you even know that I was hurt?" Dark asked and raised his gaze back to meet Link's.

Link gulped once. "Because I felt it too, Dark. The pain. The choking. I felt it, Dark." He replied but left out the feeling of something get ripped off. This was big enough part and he didn't want to push his friend further than what he was willing to go.

Dark snorted and the look on his face hardened a bit. He turned his gaze off since he was fighting bit with two different kind of feelings. Anger from the question and forcing him to remember the pain. And then a mix of feelings like sadness, regret and hurt. He had never meant Link to go through what he had forced himself to cope with.

"Dark, please! I need to know so I can help you!" Link half shouted in desperation. Dark shook his head.

"It doesn't belong to you." He hissed. "And I did this all for your sake and this is the thanks I get?" Dark continued but shut his mouth right then and there. He hadn't meant to say that. The darker Hylian lowered his gaze down and turned his face away from the Hero real fast.

Link was shocked to say the least. He sighed and lowered his gaze to the floor. They stayed quiet for a long while and the Hero didn't notice that Dark started to cry. The darker Hylian was shocked about the feeling and tears that started to roll down his face. "L-Link?" He questioned in fear.

The sound of Dark's words jolted Link out of his hurt and he turned his gaze straight to the darker Hylian. "What's wrong?" He asked straight off and moved from his place right in front of Dark.

"What's... What's this...?" Dark asked in fear and looked pleadingly at Link. The Hero noticed the tears and slightly smiled. The look on the darker Hylian's face changed a bit.

"What are you smiling at?!" He half barked and startled Link.

"I'm not meaning anything bad!" Link replied straight off. "Those are tears, Dark. You're crying." He continued straight off.

"Crying?" Dark asked and wiped one tear off. Link nodded but stayed quiet. The ex-shadow of the Hero licked at the tear and frowned a bit.

"Salty, right?" Link questioned but chuckled nervously when Dark raised still confused eyes to him. "Right... Maybe the taste part should be done sometime later..." Link continued.

Dark snorted. "I'm still mad at you." He said but his angered look turned into confusion. "I just named one feeling..." Dark half whispered and Link decided to stay quiet and tried not to chuckle but he did nod.

Link glanced at the firewood and the slowly dying fire at the fireplace. "I'll fetch some more wood so we won't run out of fire." He said while standing up. Dark was startled and he followed Link's way to Master Sword by his eyes.

"I'll come with you." Dark said and was just going to take the blanket off.

"Nah, I can do this." Link replied. "You just stay underneath the blanket. Besides, it's cold outside." He continued and turned towards the door. Dark's anger came back.

"You just don't want me there!" He half shouted and turned his back to Link. The Hero stopped right there and turned shocked towards Dark.

"That's not the case, Dark. I'm just meaning that all these feelings are new to you and I don't want you to get cold." Link replied worriedly. Dark just snorted but kept his back towards him. Link sighed and shook his head. "I'll be right back." He said and went outside.

Dark sat by the fire for sometime before finally standing up. He walked to the door and opened it slightly. The cold air shot right in and Dark shut the door in a flash while gasping at the feeling of cold. _"Shit! He wasn't lying."_ He thought, went to the backpack and drew out a thick jacket. He put it on and went back to the door... But even after third time, he still couldn't go outside.

Sighing, Dark returned the jacket and went to a window. He watched Link cut down thin trees from the close by forest. Once Link was starting to gather the cut down wood, Dark returned to his place next to the fire and pulled the blanket around himself.

Link had bit of difficulty to open the door but eventually he did get inside. He dropped the wood next to the fireplace. The Hero glanced at the darker Hylian and sighed. "Dark... I'm sorry. I really don't want us to fight." Link started quietly.

He sighed again and put the sword off. Link took one of the frozen woods and decided to actually cut them shorter to get them to fit into the fireplace. Without much of thinking he struck the frozen wood part against his leg and nearly screamed in pain.

Dark was jolted out of his thoughts and turned around in a flash. It had been first time he truly felt fear and worry. "Link!" He shouted and watched the Hero rub his leg.

"That seriously was a bad idea." Link said through gritted teeth. Dark stared at him for a long while in silence. Then, suddenly, he started to laugh. "Ha-ha... Good that you're having fun with my pain..." Link grumbled but his anger melted when he glanced at Dark. Eventually Link actually grinned.

"Sorry..." Dark whispered while still slightly chuckling. "That probably wasn't much of nice thing to do..." He continued with slight grin. Link chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it. It was my own mistake anyways." He said and took out his sword. "I probably should actually use my sword for this." Link continued and started to continue his work.

Dark watched quietly and saw the look on the Hero's face change. It turned from happiness into worry and being thoroughly in thoughts. "Link?" Dark questioned quietly.

Link flinched a bit, took once a deep breath and turned then to look at Dark. The darker Hylian was quiet and turned quite soon around again. "You're still thinking about it..." He half growled while crossing his arms over his chest.

Link sighed. "Yeah, I am. I am still wondering who the hell hurt you so I could help you!" He replied lot angrier than what he had meant to. Dark flinched a bit but stayed quiet. "Dark, _please_, let me help!" Link pleaded but sighed exaggerated when the darker Hylian shook his head.

"Why can't you understand that I never asked you to change! I only asked you to come to live at the castle!" Link shouted and struck the sword into the woodpile. Dark flinched and his anger got stronger.

"Because that means becoming real!" Dark shouted, shot up and looked angrily at Link. "Because I was a shadow! You always talked about living at there but in my opinion that needs also the rights of being actually _alive!"_ He continued.

Link was thoroughly shocked. He stared at Dark for a long while before whispering: "I never said anything like that. I..." Dark turned around again and tried to fight back the tears.

"So... You don't like the way I am now?" He asked with wavering voice. "You cared more for me when I was just a shadow, huh?"

Link was startled and even more than shocked. "What?" He asked before coming with few fast steps right behind the darker Hylian. The Hero wrapped his arms around Dark and held him tightly. "You got me all wrong, Dark. I care about you no matter how you are. Solid or shadow, it doesn't matter. You're still my friend, my brother." Link whispered desperately.

Dark swallowed few times but soon he started to shake while crying. Link held tight and carefully sat down with him. He pulled the darker Hylian to his lap. "Ssh... It's okay, Dark. I'm here and I'll always be here." Link whispered quietly. "You mean so much to me, Dark, that you wouldn't even believe it. I don't think I could live anymore if I lost you." He continued and blinked few times to keep himself from crying too.

Dark leaned against Link's chest and took a grip on the Hero's tunic. "I... I'm sorry too, Link... I didn't mean it..." He whispered and tried to swallow the lump in his throat but it didn't help much. "It's just... Everything's so new..." He continued and breathed few times deeply in attempt of trying to calm himself down.

"I know, Dark." Link whispered quietly. "It's okay. I will help you through and get everything in order, okay?" He continued and Dark just nodded. Link sighed and let few tears fall down. "There is just one thing, though, Dark." He said after a while.

"And what's that?" The darker Hylian asked bit confused. Link chuckled nervously and got Dark even more confused. He pulled off and looked at Link slightly frowning.

"We should go to the castle at the evening." Link explained and Dark pulled off thoroughly.

"Not a chance!" He half shouted while the anger returned. Link sighed.

"Dark, listen carefully." The Hero started. "I don't have enough of food to last through the night. Storm also would be needing more of food than few carrots. Not to mention about the coldness and what not. This is not a good place to stay at... Or at least we'd need more of things to survive longer." He explained.

Dark snorted and turned his gaze into the fire. He stayed quiet and Link waited patiently for the darker Hylian to say something. Eventually Dark's look softened into a sad look and he sighed. "Fine..." He whispered quietly.

"You won't regret it." Link said with slight smile. "Just one night at there and then you can figure out whether or not you want to stay at there. I won't try to force you to stay if you don't want to." He continued and nodded slightly. Dark just nodded but stayed put and didn't look at Link at all.

The evening had started to fall during their talk and fetching the wood. Link gathered the stuff to the backpack and check that everything was alright. Dark just stayed in front of the fire and had just glanced few times at Link's doings. After a while Link sat down next to him.

"You okay, Dark?" Link asked worriedly. The look on Dark's face was pure sadness. It hurt Link to see the before so happy and mischievous darker Hylian so down. The Hero hugged Dark. "It's going to be alright, Dark. I promise." He whispered.

Dark only nodded and took once a deep breath. "I guess so..." He replied quietly. Link let go of him and took off his red tunic and hat.

"Here, put these on. You shouldn't get cold that of easily at then." The Hero suggested while presenting the clothes. Dark was first surprised but then shocked.

"What?! Are you crazy! What about yourself?!" He shouted while standing up. Link chuckled a bit.

"I got my green tunic in the backpack." He replied smiling. "Come on, take it. You're really going to need it." Link continued and left the tunic and hat next to Dark. He stood up and went to the backpack to take out his normal clothes.

Dark watched shocked at him but eventually took his own hat off and put the red tunic over his black one. Then he stuffed the black hat inside the red and put it on too. By the time Dark was ready, Link had put his green tunic on too. "Come on, it's an hour or so ride to the castle." The Hero said while going to get the horses.

Dark followed quietly. He still wasn't sure about the whole thing and it all freaked him out. Link put the fire off and they walked out of the house. Dark shivered a bit but wasn't feeling as much cold as before. Link locked the door and got up on Epona. Dark followed and they started to ride out of the place.

Epona jumped over the fences like it was a daily thing. Storm had no problems with it but Dark was shocked about it. It was just luck that he stayed on the stallion's back. "Shit... It always was so easy before..." He whispered quietly.

Link chuckled. "I know how you feel. The first time is always a shock." He said and nodded then towards the far away castle. "Come on, we'd better start going."

Dark didn't say a thing and he did follow for a while but stopped soon. Link rode a bit further before turning around to see that Dark had stopped. Frowning, Link came back to him. "What's wrong?" He questioned worriedly.

Dark gulped once and didn't meet Link's eyes. "I..." He started and sighed then. "I changed my mind, Link." Dark whispered quietly. "I'm sorry but I can't come to the castle. I just can't." He continued with tears in his eyes. "I'm really sorry." Dark said one more time before turning Storm towards the darkening forest next to them.

"Wha-What?" Link asked and looked quite shocked how Dark rode into the forest. "I thought we had it already figured out! Dark, get back in here!" He shouted but on that second Storm left to gallop. Link shouted in anger and hurt.

He was too angry to Dark to follow so he forced Epona to get moving. The mare neighed and fought back. "Damn it, Epona! I can't force Dark to come!" Link shouted but regretted it straight off. It wasn't Epona's fault that Dark had changed his mind.

After about fifteen minutes of fighting with Epona about returning to the castle, Link eventually gave up. They went toward the dark forest and entered it. "They're probably already in the shadows, Epona." Link muttered but when the hoofmarks in the snow continued, he had to change his mind.

"Oh, crap..." He whispered in shock. "He's going to freeze if I don't find him!" Link half shouted and got Epona to gallop and follow the hoofmarks. It was finally clear to Link that Dark and his stallion were solid thoroughly since Storm had never before left hoofmarks after him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

And there is also new chapter to Dark's Thoughts! Go check out why in earth he left in that late into dark forest and not follow Link to the castle!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 16

The sun was rising and wind started to pick up. The cold started to affect him even more. Dark shivered and Storm slowed down a bit but kept a fast trot. _"I have his red tunic but I'm still cold... Why?"_ Dark thought and shivered when cold wind blew right at him. _"He's not following. I'm sure of that. There's no reason for him to come after me... Well, except the tunic but I think he could get another one if he wanted to..."_ He continued slightly sadly.

The sudden rustle at close by bushes startled the dark Hylian. Storm took a short gallop in shock. Dark glanced behind himself but noticed only a small white rabbit. He sighed in relief and chuckled a bit while slowing the stallion down a bit. "Nothing to worry, Storm. Rabbits can't hurt you." He said with slight grin. _"Nor can they hurt me."_

Suddenly the air was pierced with a scream. Dark stopped Storm right off. He was shocked to hear the scream since he knew the voice way too well. "LINK!" Dark shouted, turned the stallion around and forced him to gallop right back towards where they had left.

Link had just barely noticed the ball of light that came right at him. The ball struck into the ground next to Epona and the mare rose to her hind legs neighing in fear. Link screamed out of surprise and falling to the ground. Epona galloped off in shock. The Hero stood up as fast as he could and looked around.

In the air was hovering a man with long purple cape. He shot a new spell right after the first and Link didn't have time to avoid or block it. The hit was strong and agonizing. The Hero flew through the air screaming in agony and hit back first into a tree. He fell to the ground unconscious.

"NO!" Dark screamed when he saw Link get hit. He gasped in pain but pushed it into back of his mind so he could concentrate into the fight. Dark rose to his feet on Storm's back and let Storm gallop forward. The horse made a fast stop and the dark Hylian jumped with the extra speed taken from the fast stop.

The sorcerer laughed and was just preparing the next spell, when Dark came to there. He managed to avoid the sword in time by floating backwards. "You!" The dark Hylian shouted in shock when he took a better look at his enemy.

"Yeah. It's me." The sorcerer said, yawned a bit and grinned then. "And you're on my way." He continued and shot a spell at Dark. The darker Hylian tried to block the attack with his shield but it went straight through it.

Dark screamed while crashing to the ground. He forced himself back up and to attack. Dark ran at the enemy but the next spell got him to fly backwards and crash into the snow not too far from Link. The sorcerer prepared next spell but Dark stood up to protect the unconscious Hero of Hyrule.

"Get off of my way!" The sorcerer shouted while sending one spell after another. Dark kept standing up and staying between the floating man and Link. The hits were agonizing and he hit back first to the same tree where Link had been struck at. The darker Hylian made sure not to fall straight at his friend and somehow managed to stay conscious. Eventually he left for an attack.

Dark ran at the sorcerer with his sword out. The spell hit and got him to skid backwards but the darker Hylian shook his head and continued his attack. He jumped towards the sorcerer but the man avoided the hit easily.

The sorcerer grinned evilly and cast a new spell. Dark screamed in pain while flying through the air. He hit far off tree side first and fell to ground. "Finally." The sorcerer said and turned back towards Link. Smirking, he started to prepare the next spell.

Dark rose to all four while gasping for air. He raised his head and looked in fear when the sorcerer started to get close to send the spell down at his enemy. "NO!" Dark screamed, stood up sword tightly in his hand and started to run at the floating man.

Suddenly the sorcerer screamed in pain. The spell vanished and after the bright light had vanished too, there was an arrow sticking out of the man's shoulder. Dark stopped in shock and stared at the scene. Right in front of the unconscious Link was snow-white mare and on her was sitting princess Zelda. She had her bow out and another light arrow prepared to be shot. "Leave, now!" She shouted and let the arrow fly.

The sorcerer avoided the arrow just barely. "This isn't over!" He shouted but had to vanish when the third arrow came right at him. Zelda took out fourth arrow and waited for a while but the sorcerer had left the area.

"Link!" The princess shouted, put the bow and arrow away and jumped down from her mare. The horse walked away and Zelda kneeled down next to Link. "Link, wake up!" She half shouted in fear and worry.

Dark walked out of the shadows in worry. Zelda heard him come, took out her bow and arrow in a flash and aimed them right at Dark. She gasped in shock when she saw Dark. "You!" Zelda shouted in shock and anger.

Dark sheathed his sword and raised his hands in surrender. "If I were you I wouldn't do that." He said carefully.

Zelda narrowed her eyes. "And why not?" She asked suspiciously. Dark gulped.

"Because I and Link are connected. If you hurt me, you hurt him too." The darker Hylian replied and lowered his eyes to the snowy ground. "Is he alright?" He asked quietly and looked sadly at the princess.

Zelda didn't have time to answer when Link groaned and pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Oh, hell... That hurt." He whispered while holding his head with other hand. The Hero leaned against the tree while trying to calm himself down.

"Link!" Zelda shouted. She wanted to hug him and help on any way she could but she couldn't leave the darker Hylian out of her sight. "Are you alright, Link?" Zelda asked carefully and glanced at him once in a while.

"Dark?" Link asked while opening his eyes. He was first confused about what he was seeing but suddenly it was replaced with fear. "Oh, goddesses, NO!" Link shouted, jumped towards Zelda and pushed the bow and arrow down into the snow. Right after that he stood up and went between Zelda and Dark. "He's not an enemy! He's my friend!" Link half screamed in fear and shock.

Zelda stared in slight fear at Link. "Wha... What?!" She screamed. "He's your dark side! Far off from a friend, Link!" The princess shouted and would've aimed at Dark again if Link hadn't been right on the way.

"NO!" Link shouted back. "I've known him for the past six years, Zelda!" He replied desperately. Zelda was shocked and stared at Link for a long while in pure silence. "Dark didn't want it come out so I didn't say a word. But he's the one I've been going to every time I've got some time off. He's not the enemy, Zelda." Link tried to explain carefully while trying to calm down.

Dark dropped his gaze into the ground and looked off of the situation. His gaze found the two horses not too far. He glanced at Link and Zelda, who both were quiet and having some kind of staring contest going on, and left then towards the horses.

Zelda raised the bow again when Dark started to walk. Link turned around to look at Dark in slight fear. "Dark!" He called but the darker Hylian just kept walking. Link turned towards Zelda with pure anger in his eyes. "If you shoot at him you can be sure that I'm not forgiving you." He half hissed.

Zelda was shocked and lowered the bow. Link turned around again but didn't see Dark anywhere. The horses were also out of his sight. The Hero sighed and took out his Ocarina so he could call Epona back. Before he got the chance to play it, he heard the sound of hoofs coming closer.

Dark brought the two horses to there. "I thought you might want to get Epona back." He said with slight smile. Link chuckled, put the Ocarina off and came to him. Zelda watched in silence and fear how Link went right next to his darker counterpart. "They just thought to give room to fight and to stay out of harm's way too." Dark continued and Link nodded smiling.

While Link got up on Epona, he didn't notice Dark flinching in pain. The feeling didn't go unnoticed by Zelda, though, but she kept her mouth shut while going to fetch her mare. Dark gripped slightly at his side but shook his head to get the pain go away. Link frowned a bit at him. "Dark, are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

Dark chuckled slightly. "I'm fine, don't worry." He replied and smiled at Link. He then sighed and lowered his sad gaze down. "I'm sorry I ran off, Link. I just... I was scared..." Dark whispered quietly.

Link sighed and put his hand over Dark's shoulder. "I can understand that. And I'm sorry too. I should've kept my mouth shut and just get after you straight off." Link started and sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, Dark. I... I think I was bit mad and hurt... Sorry." He continued.

Dark chuckled slightly. "How about being even now?" He asked with a slight grin. Link laughed and nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea." He replied smiling. "So, shall we head to the castle?" Link continued slightly hesitantly. Dark sighed sadly, glanced once at Zelda but nodded. "Good." Link continued and looked at Zelda.

"Zelda, would you take the lead, please?" Link asked as nicely as he could. The princess looked at him and sighed but took the lead. She rode with her white mare few meters ahead of the two Hylian guys but she listened carefully what they were talking.

The horses were trotting forward and the wind was picking up making the air colder. Dark was shivering and took a grip on his side. When he pulled the hand off with the feeling of it coming wet, he was shocked. _"I'm bleeding..."_ He thought while staring at the blood in his hand. Dark turned to look at Link and was glad to notice that the Hero was looking forward.

Dark returned his gaze back to his hand, gulped once and returned his hand to the wound. "Dark?" The question sounded worried and got the darker Hylian to shot his head back up and look straight at Link. "You okay?" Link questioned worriedly while slowing Epona down and coming right next to Dark.

"Uh... Yeah, I'm fine..." Dark replied but the worried look didn't leave from Link's face. Suddenly the darker Hylian shivered with the wind blowing right through them. Link's worry increased and he frowned when he noticed Dark's hand over his side.

"You're not okay, Dark." Link stated and was just going to move Dark's hand off of the wound when Storm moved away from Epona. "Dark!" The Hero shouted in worry and got Epona to get closer to the stallion. Storm neighed and shook his head while keeping the distance between him and the mare.

"Dark! You're hurt, let me help!" Link pleaded desperately. The blood was already starting to seep through between Dark's fingers. "Dark! That wound need to be healed!" The Hero continued even more desperate and tried to keep his voice firm and strong.

Dark flinched but shook his head. "It's nothing, Link. Really..." He whispered quietly but shivered violently when the wind started to pick up. He gasped slightly when the cold hit into the wound. Link couldn't take it anymore.

The Hero forced Epona right next to Storm. He nearly jumped from the mare to the stallion. The black horse neighed in surprise but didn't get up to his hind legs. Link pulled the surprised and shocked darker Hylian towards himself before taking the sword and shield off. He put them into their places on the stallion's sides. Right after that Link again pulled Dark close to himself and took the reins from him. "We're heading to the castle right now." He stated firmly.

"Epona, take the lead!" Link commanded and the mare neighed for an answer. She moved in front of the black stallion and sped up. Zelda was shocked when the reddish mare rode without Link right past her. Her shock grew even more when Link came after Epona on the black stallion and holding on to Dark. "I'll see you at the castle, princess!" Link shouted to her.

Zelda forced her mare into a gallop. The white horse was far from the speed of the reddish mare and black stallion. She soon was left behind while the two other horses continued their way. "That horse is equal in speed with Epona..." Zelda whispered in shock.

Dark shivered in the cold and closed his eyes. "Dark!" Link shouted in fear when the darker Hylian was getting limp in his arms. The shout had startled Dark slightly and he had shot his eyes open. "Don't fall asleep, Dark! Please, _don't_ fall asleep!" He pleaded desperately. Dark groaned a bit in pain while leaning backwards into Link's chest.

"I'm cold... And tired..." Dark replied in quiet whisper. His eyes were starting to close again. The darker Hylian wrapped his arms around himself. It was getting hard to stay awake and he couldn't even concentrate in the scenery since it was flashing by so fast.

"NO!" Link half screamed and jolted Dark again awake from his half-sleep. "You can't sleep, Dark! Not now!" He continued in fear. "Come on, Storm, hurry up!" Link half whispered in desperation but knew that the stallion couldn't go faster. He was already going bit too fast in the hard forest.

Eventually Dark fell limp in Link's arms. "NO!" Link screamed in pure fear. "DARK, WAKE UP!" He continued straight off but the darker Hylian only made a small noise but didn't wake up. "Dark! Oh, no, no, no..." Link whispered and tried to get Storm go faster but the stallion refused. Storm knew to be going as fast as he could in the forest without fearing to fall down.

The sun set few hours before the horses came out of the forest. Link took the lead on that second and forced Storm to gallop as fast as he could. Epona came right behind in equal speed. "Just hang in there, Dark. We'll get help soon." Link whispered while taking the road to the castle. _"Goddesses, help!"_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 17

Link didn't slow Storm down when they galloped through the market place. He was in too much hurry to worry about some nighttime walkers. They'd better look out on their own for once.

Link rode Storm right into the stables of the castle. "Look after my friend's horse and Epona!" He shouted while jumping down from the stallion. He took Dark down carefully so he wouldn't cause any pain to him. Right after that he ran through the doors into the castle and chose his way right towards the Infirmary section of the castle. The young boy in the stables watched in shock and awe at Link before turning his gaze into the black stallion and the reddish mare right behind it.

Link carried Dark straight into the Infirmary. "DOC!" He screamed while laying Dark down to the first free bed he found. "Doc!" Link repeated in fear and desperation. While waiting for the doctor to come, he started to look around in search of bandages and other things.

"What's the ruckus in here?!" Came the bit angry voice of older doctor. He was surprised when he found Link searching for bandages. "What's going on here?" He asked in demanding voice.

"It's my friend! He needs help!" Link shouted desperately. The doctor walked to the bed and took a fast look at the patient. He nodded and went straight to right cabin. The doctor took out the needed things and returned next to Dark.

Link watched in fear and worry while the doctor worked with the wound. Once he had bandaged the wound, the doctor left the room without a word. Link took Dark's shoes off and pulled the blanket over him before starting to work with getting his friend warm. "Doc, bring the dragon-breath-blanket!" Link shouted to the closed door.

He didn't get an answer but the doctor did come back quite soon with the said blanket. "I was thinking about the exact same thing." He stated while laying the blanket over the dark Hylian. The blanket was special thing. It was created by the breath of dragon. Its color was fire-red and it stayed warm no matter what happed to it. It was mainly used during winter since there were many patients who were suffering of cold or even of hypothermia.

The special blanket took effect fast and inside of fifteen minutes Dark started to shiver. Link sighed in relief and sat to the chair next to the bed. "Call me once he wakes up." The doctor said and left the room. Link just nodded and watched his friend. He was still worried but with Dark shivering, he knew that the darker Hylian would make it through.

Zelda came into the room nearly running. She stopped right at the door and took few deep breaths to calm herself. She didn't want to show how out of breath she was. Once she had managed to calm herself down, the princess just opened the door and walked in.

Zelda slammed the door shut as loudly as she could. Link was startled and nearly jumped in the small chair. Dark only sifted slightly in the bed but didn't wake up. Link turned his gaze from Zelda back to Dark before sighing and standing up. He walked to the princess and didn't let her get further inside. "Are you trying to wake him up or something?" Link half hissed in a whisper.

"That was my intention." Zelda replied in a normal tone. Link flinched and tried to calm himself down.

"Be quieter! Dark's trying to sleep." Link hissed and looked quite angrily at the princess. Zelda matched the look and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't understand you, Link." The princess started with normal voice and ignored Link's shushing. "As far as you've told me, he's the enemy." Zelda continued and Link sighed. He glanced once at the sleeping darker Hylian before returning his gaze back to Zelda.

"That was in the past, Zelda. He's different. He hasn't even once tried to hurt me during these last six years." He started quietly. "And there is another thing too, princess..." Link continued quietly and sighed again. "I feel whole when he's around."

Zelda looked at him like he would've gotten another head. "What in goddesses name are you trying to say, Link?" She asked confused.

Link smiled a bit and looked at Dark. "When I first fought with him... And killed him..." He started and whispered the second sentence even quieter than the first. He gulped once before continuing: "I've felt like part of me died with him. And before he came back, I felt like half of me was missing."

Zelda stared at him for a long while. Link didn't move his gaze from Dark but he started to continue with a small smile: "The second meeting was fully different from our first. He refused straight off from fighting me. And he hasn't been even one bit of danger or any kind of threat either. Plus he's helped me to check the Temples lot faster." Link sighed and the smile vanished from his face. "He's been there on my side ever since and I don't think I've done much to match that friendship. This is one of the few times I can show my gratitude and return the friendship he's shown to me." He whispered quietly.

Suddenly Dark moved and pushed himself upwards slowly. Link rushed straight to his side and kneeled down next to the bed. "Dark?" He called quietly. The darker Hylian groaned a bit and opened his eyes slowly. Link smiled bit sadly. "How are you feeling?" He asked straight off.

Dark sighed and turned to his back. He brought his other arm over his forehead while closing his eyes again. "Bit cold... I think..." He replied quietly. Link stood up and sat down on the bed. The darker Hylian opened his eyes and looked at Link but real soon his gaze moved to Zelda. The princess watched the two Hylians from the door.

Link followed Dark's gaze and slightly frowned. "Don't worry about her, Dark. I'll stay right here beside you and no-one's going to get me to move from here." He said calmly while turning back to Dark.

The darker Hylian looked worried and with difficulty managed to turn his gaze back to Link. He still kept glancing at the princess. Link sighed and turned towards Zelda. "If you would do me a favor, Zelda, then go and get the doctor, please." He called to the princess as casually as he could.

Zelda narrowed her eyes but left without a word to find the doctor. She wanted to talk to the doctor about Dark's condition and to hear what he thought about the darker Hylian. Link sighed in relief when the princess left the room.

"Dark." Link called and the darker Hylian turned to look at him. The Hero smiled. "Don't worry, okay? I won't let anyone hurt you, it's a promise." He continued. Dark sighed and nodded.

"I know... It's just..." Dark started and dropped his gaze into the blanket. He fell silent and after a while Link sighed. He shook his head and chuckled a bit.

"I won't let Zelda throw you into jail or kick you out of the castle. There's no chance for her to get us separated." Link said as calmly and firmly as he could. Dark was slightly surprised and he raised his gaze up to Link. "You're my brother and I'm going to look after you no matter what." Link said with a grin.

Dark chuckled and nodded. "Thanks." He whispered and pushed himself bit upwards. Link was fast to react and helped the darker Hylian to sitting position. He arranged the pillows behind Dark and helped to get the blankets upwards. After that the Hero sat back down on the bed.

Right at then the doctor came in with Zelda right behind him. "Ah, good to see that you've woken up." He said with a nod. Dark was bit startled and glanced once at Link for confirmation about the new guy. The doctor started to walk towards the bed and without even thinking, Dark took a grip of Link's hand.

Link smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. This is the doctor of the castle. He won't hurt you." He said with a nod and slightly tightened the grip on Dark's hand. Dark gulped once but tried to calm down.

"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked straight off. He started to move the blanket off but Dark was still bit scared about the situation. The doctor turned to look at Link for bit of help.

Dark stayed silent even though he knew he should answer. The only problem was that he didn't have an answer to give. _Feeling_ was a word that he was just starting to get used to and naming things out wasn't yet the easiest thing to be done. So, the dark Hylian turned to look at Link for help.

Link's smile didn't vanish. "It's okay, Dark. He's just going to check the wound you have." He whispered quietly. Dark nodded, gulped once and let the doctor move the blanket off. He gasped when the colder hands of the doctor moved his two tunics upwards as well as the white shirt underneath them.

"Sorry. Should've warmed my hands before coming here." The doctor muttered while actually changing the bandages. Dark closed his eyes. He was scared and trying not to cry. And confused because he always thought that tears were part of being sad, not scared.

It didn't take long before the doctor was done. "Alright then. It might be good idea to drink something warm. So... Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?" The doctor started before chuckling nervously. "It might be bit too early for coffee, though, so we'll check that off of the list." He continued.

Dark was confused. The words meant nothing to him so he turned again towards Link. "I think it's hot chocolate. And make it two, please." The Hero replied with a smile. The doctor nodded and left the room. Zelda, who had been quiet whole time and watching Dark's reactions and Link's doings, followed the doctor out of the room while feeling puzzled about the whole situation.

While Link was trying his best to get Dark to talk and calm down, Zelda started her own talk with the doctor. The doctor had went to work with the drinks and actually beat the princess on starting the conversation. "Where did he actually find the dark Hylian guy?" The doctor asked confused.

"I don't actually know." Zelda replied equally puzzled. The doctor nodded.

"It isn't that of much about his outlook than it is about his reactions. That confusion and fear is usually normal with kids, not with guys that is about Link's age." The doctor said slightly worriedly.

Zelda was surprised. "Are you saying that those feelings of his are actually genuine?" She asked and was even more surprised when the doctor nodded.

"I've seen enough of feelings, both faked and real. I do recognize real feeling form fake one, my princess." He answered and shook his head then. "That guy has lot to learn still." The doctor muttered and continued with the drinks.

Zelda fell quiet. The answer the doctor had given her was puzzling. Not to mention it also was far from what she had thought and even hoped for. She would've loved to tell Link that the darker Hylian was just fooling with him, just faking the feelings but... _"He's real... That guy is actually _real_."_ The princess thought in shock.

The princess stayed in the room when the doctor left to take the hot chocolates to the patient and Link. Dark was actually smiling a bit and laughing when he entered the room but on the second he noticed the doctor, the smile vanished from his face. "No need to stop laughing because of me." The doctor said with a smile.

Link grinned slightly while taking the cups from the doctor. "He's just bit shy." He explained while putting the cups down on the side table. "Thanks for bringing the hot chocolate, doc." Link continued with a nod.

The doctor nodded, glanced at the darker Hylian and turned around. Dark was feeling bit like wanting to vanish fully. Link gripped his hand and squeezed slightly. The darker Hylian turned slightly surprised gaze into him and Link smiled at him. Once the doctor was out of the room, Dark sighed in relief.

Link chuckled slightly. "You really shouldn't be so shy, Dark. He's no enemy." He said while taking the cup of hot chocolate from the table. "Here." Link said while giving the cup to Dark. "Just be careful with it. It's hot. And I'm sure you don't want to burn your mouth with it." He continued while taking his own cup.

Dark smiled at the warmth of the cup in his hands. He brought it close to his mouth and his smile widened slightly with the scent of the chocolate and feel of the warmth coming from the cup. The darker Hylian was eager to taste it but looked first carefully at Link and how he was slightly sipping at the drink.

When Dark took the first sip, he was startled at the hotness of the drink. Link was fast to steady Dark's hands and keep the drink from spilling. The darker Hylian was surprised and slightly ashamed about the situation. Link just smiled. "Careful, Dark." He said and let go of the cup.

The second try went easier since this time he knew what to wait for. Link's smile widened when he saw the look on Dark's face brighten. "Good, huh?" He asked with a smile and Dark just nodded eagerly. Link chuckled happily.

Suddenly the look on Dark's face changed. "Storm!" He half shouted. Link was slightly startled but he pushed Dark right back down to the bed when the darker Hylian tried to get up.

"Hey, don't worry. He's fine. I'm sure of that." Link said while trying to sound calm. "He's with Epona and they're both taken good care. Trust me." He continued but the pleading look in Dark's eyes didn't vanish. Link sighed. "Fine..." He whispered and let go of Dark.

"First you'll drink that and then we can go to check on him. Alright?" Link asked as firmly as he could. Dark sighed but nodded. "Good. You need your strength." The Hero continued and took once a deep breath.

After ten minutes the two Hylians were walking through the castle. "We'll return right back to that room once we've checked the horses. Go it?" Link said while guiding Dark through the corridors. The darker Hylian nodded and followed the Hero further into the castle.

The shouting and neighing got both Hylians startled. They called their horses names on that second and Link started to run towards the stables. Dark followed him equally worried but slightly slower. Link threw the door open and stared in shock at the scene.

Epona had two lassos around her neck and four guys were trying to pull her out of the stable. Storm was in the back of the stable and neighing in fear. The reddish mare stood to her hind legs once in a while and pulling backwards with all her might. She too was neighing in anger not fear.

"Hey! What the heck you think you're doing?!" Link shouted in anger. He glanced once at Dark before going down the few stairs and straight to Epona. The presence of the Hero had surprised all four guys and Link was able to pull the ropes off of their hands.

The guys backed off while Link went to his dear mare. "It's okay, Epona. No worries anymore." He whispered while calming the mare down and taking the lassos off of her. Right after that he turned around in pure anger. "Someone, _please_, tell me what you were thinking to be doing?!" He half shouted.

The four guys looked at each other before one gulped and stepped forwards. "Uh... Epona was in front of the black stallion... We were just trying to get to him to get him checked and all but... Epona wasn't letting us..." He started to explain.

Link facepalmed and shook his head. "Idiots." He muttered while taking once a deep breath and raising his gaze up. "You just didn't try to think that it might be on the way of the fact that Storm doesn't trust on other people?"

The guys looked at each other but stayed quiet. Link sighed and shook his head. "The black stallion has had only one owner and one who's looked after him. I and Epona are considered as friends because we're friends of the stallion's owner. So, the stallion doesn't really let many close to him. And Epona was just trying to protect him and tell him that it's okay." Link started and sighed again. "You should've started from Epona and show to Storm that it's okay."

The four guys were still there and Dark slowly walked past them. Link nodded to him and the darker Hylian walked past him straight to the stallion. "Dark's the owner of the black stallion." Link said nodding to Dark. The darker Hylian had already started to calm the stallion down and Link sighed. "Bring the needed things for both Epona and quest horse."

The four guys left to work in a flash. Once the guys were gone, Dark turned to Link. "You said everything was going to be okay." He mumbled. Link sighed and turned to Dark with a sad look on his face.

"I know. I'm sorry. I thought Epona would've been helping more..." The Hero replied quietly. Dark just nodded and turned back to his stallion. After the needed things were brought, Link started to teach Dark how to look after the stallion.

The Hero of Hyrule took the first brush and started to work on Epona. Dark watched carefully and searched for same kind of brush. He then checked one more time at Link before starting to work too. They worked in silence but Link did notice the two guys that were watching them bit confused.

Link sighed exaggerated and stopped his work. He turned angrily at the two watchers and half shouted: "Dark is Storm's owner but the stallion has been take care by another person. Dark does know how to look after his horse but just wants a reminder about it. And isn't there other horses to look after? Now get going!"

The two guys were startled and quite soon were far away from them. Link sighed and leaned against Epona's neck while hiding his face into the mare's mane. Dark was startled and he stared at Link for a long while."Link?" He eventually called.

The Hero took once a deep breath before standing straight again. He turned to face Dark and answered to the question the darker Hylian was bound to ask. "We'll talk about it later. There is a reason for my words." He stated and continued to work with Epona. Dark stayed silent and turned around again towards Storm.

_"I can't believe he actually lied."_ Dark thought bit surprised. _"They believe him thoroughly about his words and... If this comes out... Oh, goddesses, he put his own credibility and honesty on the line! But why? Why would he risk it all? And what does _shy_ mean? I gotta ask that too from him sooner or later. Oh, and also about what's the difference between friend and a brother... Somehow I get a feeling that brother is something more important than a friend is... And what about—"_

"Dark?" Link questioned and startled the darker Hylian thoroughly. Dark jumped a bit and turned around real fast. "Didn't mean to scare you but how long are you going to brush that one and same place?" The Hero continued with slight smile.

Dark was surprised and chuckled then. "Sorry. I kinda fell into my own thoughts." He replied and turned back to his work. Link chuckled and shook his head. Dark soon fell back into his thoughts but this time managed to keep slight notion on his work too.

After the horses were brushed and checked thoroughly Link called a friend of his to there. The youngster had looked after Epona many times and Link knew he could trust the guy. The Hero made sure that the stallion and mare were left in one bigger stable together and that no-one else than the youngster could look after them. Dark was slightly unsure about it but he trusted Link, so he left Storm with Epona in the kid's care.

After this was done, Link started to guide Dark back to the Infirmary but took slight detour. "I don't think this was the way we came from, Link." Dark said slightly confused. Link chuckled but nodded.

"I know. I just thought to visit at one place first. Just hope there isn't anyone around." Link replied and continued his way. After few turns and surprisingly quiet hallways, they came to their destination.

Link opened the door and took a peek inside. He sighed in relief when the kitchen was empty. "Come on." He whispered and showed Dark to follow. The Hero walked straight to the cabinets and started to gather things to a long wooden table.

Dark watched confused at Link's work. "Meal time." Link said grinning while working few sandwiches. "Just take what you want." He continued while sitting down to the long wooden bench. Dark followed his example but was bit slower to work on his own sandwich.

It didn't take long before the two Hylians were happily eating sandwiches. Link named the ingredients of their food and Dark was eager to taste everything on the table. He quite soon had figured out what he liked and what he disliked.

Link cleaned the place after the meal. "Just to make sure no-one realized that we've visited here." He said with a grin and wink. Dark chuckled, checked Link's work of the cleaning and followed then the Hero out of the kitchen. This time Link did take Dark back to the Infirmary.

Dark went eagerly back under the blankets. "I hope you didn't mind about the detour. I just had gotten bit hungry." Link said slightly apologizing. Dark laughed.

"Mind about that?" He asked and shook his head. "Not even one bit. I was hungry too and it was quite teaching." Dark continued with a wide smile. Link chuckled and nodded. Then Dark's expression darkened and he sighed. "Link... Why did you actually—" He started but Link leaned closer and brought his hand over Dark's mouth.

"Not here, Dark." He hissed and looked around once. "Too many might hear." He continued while pulling off. Dark was shocked and startled about the fast movement. Link sighed. "Sorry." He whispered.

Dark took once a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Nah, nothing to worry about." He replied with slight smile. Link nodded. "But you will tell me someday, right?" Dark continued bit hopefully.

Link chuckled and nodded again. "Of course I'll tell it out but I think it would be good idea if you took some rest now." He said with slight grin. Dark nodded at first but was startled at the suggestion.

"Rest?" He questioned bit puzzled. Link laughed a bit.

"Yeah. To get some sleep. It's starting to be late and the day has been quite busy too." Link replied smiling. And before he even got to end of his sentence, Dark yawned a bit. The Hero chuckled. "And you actually are tired already." He continued.

Dark sighed, closed his eyes and took a bit more comfortable position. Link smiled at him, pulled the blanket bit higher and went to sit to the chair next to the bed. "Link?" Dark asked tiredly.

"Yeah?" The Hero replied and came back to sit on the bed. Dark yawned before he started to talk again.

"You gonna be close by this night?" The darker Hylian asked carefully. Link chuckled.

"Of course I'll be. You can wake me up if you need something." He replied smiling. "Just get some rest, Dark. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise." Link continued and went back to the chair. By the time he sat down on it, Dark had already fallen asleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 18

Dark was first to wake up at that day. He yawned and stretched slightly while opening his eyes. The room was still dimly lit but the sunrise was bringing whole time more light inside. The dark Hylian's red eyes found Link sleeping bit uncomfortably at the chair next to the bed. Dark smiled and sat up quietly. He pulled the blanket better around himself and watched the sleeping Hero.

After an hour or so Link started to wake up. He groaned slightly while rubbing his neck and sitting up. "I'd say good morning, but that looks bit painful." Dark said grinning. Link blinked few times and frowned before finally looking at Dark.

"Yeah, morning." He replied and stretched slightly. "Did you sleep well?" Link continued, closed his eyes and tried to get his neck stop hurting.

"Yeah, I did. What about you?" Dark answered carefully. Link shrugged.

"It's never fun to sleep on the chair but other than that... Quiet okay, I guess." The Hero stated and eventually smiled. "So... Do you want a tour around the castle or something?" He asked feeling slightly hopeful.

Dark shrugged. "I'd rather not crash up with too many people but the suggestion does sound good." He answered hesitantly. Link nodded and stood up.

"So, since it's still early, we could leave now." He said smiling. "Not too many is up at this time of morning." Link told and offered his hand to Dark. Dark answered to the smile and nodded while taking Link's hand into his own.

The Hero started to guide the darker Hylian around the castle. They walked as quietly as they could and talked in whispers. Their first place was to kitchen. Link checked the place from the door before going inside. Dark was grinning. It felt fun and exciting to sneak around the castle.

The two Hylians did few sandwiches, ate and cleaned after themselves before leaving. After that Link made sure that Dark was close by while he showed the rest of the place. From kitchen they went to the stables just to find the horses still asleep.

Next on line was the main hall. Dark looked around in awe but he was quite soon lost in the huge castle. He felt slightly jealous about how well Link knew his way around but he soon shook his head. _"He's been living here for years. Of course he's learned to navigate in the castle."_ Dark reminded himself and smiled bit. _"And if I'd stay here too, I would eventually learn my way around."_ He continued

Link also showed few secret ways that he had found by accident. Some were just dead-ends but few he hadn't been able to check fully yet. Besides the secret ways, the first floor was checked in an hour or so.

The Hero took Dark into second floor. Checking the area and getting half of third floor went by quite easily. At third floor they started to come across with other people. They greeted Link and looked bit frowning at Dark. The Hero kept telling over and over again that Dark was his friend. Others nodded and turned back to their work.

Dark stayed quiet whenever they met with other people. He just nodded and stayed close to Link. He couldn't really understand why he was feeling scared and later on even embarrassed about the situation. Link handled the talking and once in a while told Dark to be _shy_.

Eventually they had come to Link's own room. Really few actually came to there but the Hero knew it was also one of the first places he would be searched from. "So, this is actually my room." Link said after opening the door.

Dark was surprised about the size of the room. It was lot smaller than what he had thought about. "Do you like it in here?" Dark asked and went to sit down on Link's bed. It felt lot softer than the bed at Infirmary.

Link shrugged and walked to the window. "It's good and quiet." He replied while turning his back towards the window. Dark frowned a bit.

"Yeah, but do you _like_ it?" He repeated bit more harshly than what he had meant to. Link sighed and looked out of the window.

"I'm not thoroughly sure, Dark." Link said and turned again at him. "It gets sometimes lonely at here. And yet, this is far enough from other people so I can really be on my own. I... I don't think I've actually thought it out on that way." He continued bit sadly.

Dark nodded and looked around the room. It was round place with two windows. In middle of the room was table and few chairs. Bed was on right from the door. Across the room from the bed was separated area where one could change clothes and wash up. The first window was right across the door and second was not too far from the bed. There were few carpets here and there. And then there was one cabinet and one chest of drawers. Underneath the second window was big and decorated chest.

Dark's gaze stayed at the chest. Link had turned back to the window but when he glanced at Dark, he smiled bit. "You can open it if you want to." He called and startled the darker Hylian.

Dark turned around to face Link. "You sure about it?" He asked and Link just nodded. The darker Hylian grinned, went across the bed and straight to the chest. Link grinned when Dark opened the chest.

The darker Hylian frowned. He had waited for a real treasure but found only several tunics and things Link had gotten from the Temples. Dark sighed and closed the chest. "I kinda waited for something else." He said bit defeated.

Link chuckled. "I thought so." He replied and walked to the bed. "Anyways, you can change clothes if you want. Or at least wash up." Link suggested.

Dark frowned. "Is there something wrong with my current clothes, huh?" He asked and crossed his arms over his chest. Link chuckled and shook his head.

"Not what I was meaning." He replied smiling. "I just thought you'd like to get clean clothes for yourself. Besides, you can take what you want to put on." Link continued and laid down on the bed. Dark stayed quiet for a long while but eventually he sighed.

"Fine. You think you got another red tunic?" He asked while standing up. Link nodded and went to the cabinet. He searched for a while but did finally find what he was looking for. Link gave the needed clothes to Dark. "Thanks." The darker Hylian said and went to the separated area. Link returned back to his bed and closed his eyes.

Dark put the clean clothes to their place and looked around. It was fully new to him but after bit of looking around and checking things out, he started to get the hang of things. Dark washed up while feeling bit uncertain and nervous. He was careful with his wound and tried not to get it too wet.

As the time went by, Link started to get worried. "You okay there, Dark? Need any help?" He called while sitting up on the bed.

Dark was slightly surprised. "Nah... I think I got the hang of this." He replied while already drying himself. After that he started to get the new clothes on.

Link waited bit worriedly on the bed. He wondered if he should've told Dark something about washing up and what not but he stayed quiet. Ten minutes later Dark came back. "I think that suits you well." Link said smiling.

Dark scratched the back of his head bit uncertainly. "I like my black clothes more." He mumbled bit sadly. Link nodded.

"I know how you feel. Besides, it would be good idea to wash your clothes and fix the hole in them." He said grinning. Dark sighed but nodded. "Come on, there's one more place I want to show you." Link continued and walked to the door.

Dark followed quietly. He was feeling slightly uncomfortable in the red tunic and clean clothes. It didn't feel right on him but the size was perfect none the less. _"Well, I gotta get used to this..."_ He thought bit sadly.

Link took Dark to the highest part of the castle. The tower was luckily having glass windows so the cold winter air didn't get inside it. The Hero closed the door behind them and sat next to one of the windowsills and looked straight at Dark.

The darker Hylian was leaning against the door and catching his breath. "Why did you have to bring me all the way up here, Link?" He asked bit desperately while keeping his eyes closed.

Link sighed bit sadly. "Sorry. This is actually the only place where we can talk without fearing that anyone could hear us." He replied and patted the place next to him. "Come on, sit down, Dark." The Hero called.

Dark sighed but walked the short distance from the door to the window. He sat down and leaned against the pillar behind him. "If that's the case, then I _do_ have couple of questions." He stated firmly.

Link smiled and nodded. "Thought so." He replied. "You can ask all you want and I'll answer as well as I can." The Hero continued and nodded towards the window. Dark frowned a bit but followed Link's gaze and gasped.

He had known to have come high but the scenery was lot more beautiful than he had ever thought. "Wow." Dark whispered while looking around in the snowy landscape. Link smiled.

"Thought you might like the scenery too." He said calmly and Dark just nodded. "Besides..." Link continued and started to search his pockets. "I thought you might get bit hungry." He stated while taking out few well packed sandwiches.

Dark was surprised about the food. Link put them to the windowsill between them and unwrapped one of the sandwiches. "So, just ask, Dark." He stated smiling.

Dark blinked few times and chuckled then. "And I just thought you were trying to get my thoughts somewhere else." He said smiling and taking one of the wrapped sandwiches up. Dark mimicked Link's earlier actions and took the wrapping off of the sandwich before starting to eat.

They were silent while they ate a sandwich. Dark looked out from the window and Link actually was looking at Dark. The Hero was happy to see the darker Hylian happy and excited about the new things he's learned.

Eventually Dark turned his gaze into Link. "So... The questions." He started and Link nodded. "Okay... So..." The darker Hylian started and took once a deep breath.

"Why did you lie to the guys at the stables? What does _shy_ mean? What's the difference between brother and a friend?" Dark asked straight off. Link blinked few times and chuckled then.

"Whoa there! Take it easy, okay. One question at a time, please." He said while raising his hands in surrender. Dark was slightly surprised and muttered a fast apology. Link chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. So, let's see..." He continued and started to think out his words.

"The reason I lied at the stables was to keep them from asking stupid questions." Link started. "They were already starting to wonder off why you didn't know how to look after Storm and why Storm was so scared too. I had to come with something and the words just came out." He continued and shrugged.

"I doubt that the truth would ever come out." Link said and smiled. "On this way you don't have to worry about the questions or them giving you strange looks. I just want to make sure they'll treat you as well as they've treated me." He continued.

Dark nodded but stayed quiet waiting for Link to continue. "And as for the word _shy_. It's when someone doesn't exactly have the courage to talk to others... Like me when I first met Zelda." Link explained and chuckled bit nervously at the last comment.

Dark frowned. "I never thought that _you'd _be shy." He said unbelieving the words. Link laughed.

"Well, it's the truth. I just barely got words out at our first meeting... Or on the second after I went to rescue her." He replied. Dark shook his head still not fully believing. Link grinned. "You can ask from Zelda if you don't believe me."

Dark was startled. "That's not what I meant!" He half shouted and frowned straight off when Link started to laugh. "What?!" Dark asked exaggerated but only got Link to laugh even harder.

"Just cool it, Dark." Link started while calming down."Everything's okay. You don't have to believe me if you don't feel like it. I'm just being as honest as I can be." He continued smiling but the smile started to fade quite soon.

Dark frowned. "You okay, Link? Did I say something wrong?" He asked worriedly. Link sighed and shook his head.

"No, nothing like that." He replied and smiled bit sadly. "It's just that I'm wondering how I'm going to answer to your third question." Link continued and leaned backwards to the pillar. He turned his gaze into the snowy landscape.

"Um... If it's so hard to get explained, then just forget that I even asked it." Dark said bit uncertainly. He glanced at Link once in a while but mainly kept his gaze in the same snowy landscape as Link did.

"It's nothing like that, Dark." Link whispered and sighed. "I just want you to know that... Well... You mean a lot to me, Dark." He said and turned to look at the darker Hylian during the last sentence. "I just want you to know that I care about you and want you to be happy. No matter what you choose for your life, I'll be here for you and encourage you on any possible way I can."

Dark was surprised and bit embarrassed about Link's words. He turned his gaze down to the room's floor and blinked few times. "Uh... Thanks..." The darker Hylian whispered.

"Dark?" Link called and Dark raised his gaze back up bit worried about what Link was going to say. The Hero smiled, stood up and took one step right in front of Dark. The darker Hylian frowned bit and gasped slightly in shock when Link hugged him. It took a second from Dark to answer to the hug.

After a while Link pulled off and sighed. "You asked about difference between friend and a brother." He started and sat down to his earlier place. "The main difference, usually, is that brother is blood related male person and friend is someone you get to know outside the family. There are also brothers that have been adopted which means that they live in same family but don't share the same blood. Usually the reason for such is when the adopted child loses his parents or comes from a bad home." Link started and turned to look out of the window.

Dark stayed silent and frowned a bit. "I want us to be as close as brothers can be, Dark. Like you said once before, I am the only child of my family... But that's what's been told. There could be a sibling that I don't know anything about... Given for adoption or something..." The Hero continued bit sadly.

Link sighed and turned again to face Dark. "You're not just a friend, Dark. You're more important to me than anyone else that I've met during my life. And—" He started but Dark interrupted him right there and then.

"What about Zelda? I thought you've fallen for her." He asked frowning. Link blushed bright red.

"Uh... Yeah... Well..." He started but couldn't find the right words. Dark watched him bit worriedly. Link sighed and dropped his gaze down. "I _do_ love her, Dark..." He eventually whispered quietly. Quite soon the look on his face sharpened and he raised his gaze back to Dark. "But that does _not_ change my feeling towards you, Dark. Yes, we are friends but to me, Dark, you're a brother." Link stated as firmly as he could.

Dark was slightly startled but there did come slight smile to his face with Link's last words. He nodded and relaxed. "I'd love to say the same, Link, but so far you've been only one I know and can trust." Dark said bit sadly but soon he was grinning. "And that's probably also the reason you'll always be number one to me."

Link laughed and before Dark even realized, the Hero already hugged him again. Dark chuckled a bit and answered this time lot faster to the hug. "Brothers forever, Dark. Nothing can get us separated." Link whispered quietly and Dark just nodded.

They spent bit longer at the tower before leaving back to the Infirmary. Dark was smiling and actually tried not be so shy. He nodded to others but still couldn't really talk to anyone. Link led him straight to Infirmary where they ate the rest of the sandwiches. After a short conversation about different things, they did fall asleep, Link at the chair and Dark at the bed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

Sorry for nearly late update! T.T


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

Oh, and sorry for **meant **mistakes on this chapter. You'll find out what I mean when you read this chapter. ;) (Also, unfortunately it doesn't accept writing that has a line drawn over it, sadly.)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 19

Dark woke up in middle of the night. He slowly sat up while yawning and stretching a bit. Once he got his eyes open, he looked straight at Link. The Hero was sleeping bit awkwardly on the chair and Dark slightly flinched when he saw Link's current position.

The darker Hylian sighed and stood up quietly. He walked to the window not too far from the bed and looked out. Dark sighed while leaning against the windowsill and pressing his forehead against the cold glass. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts fly.

About fifteen minutes later Dark sighed and pulled off. He glanced once at Link before dropping his sad gaze into the floor. _"There's just too much of people in here... I'm not ready."_ Dark thought sadly, glanced once more at Link before leaving towards the door.

Dark sneak out of the Infirmary and stopped after closing the door. He closed his eyes and started to recall the ways Link had shown him. _"I need few clothes, some food and maybe some other things too... I just hope Link can forgive me someday."_ The darker Hylian thought before leaving to walk towards Link's room.

After few wrong turns and recalling the way, Dark eventually found to Link's room. The door was locked. Dark sighed, turned his back to the door and leaned against it. He thought for a while and eventually turned around. He had once found few really thin sticks and learned to pick a lock with them. _"I'm sorry, Link."_ Dark thought while starting to work with the lock.

It took nearly ten minutes before he got it opened. Dark slipped inside the room and looked around for a while. He really wasn't feeling too good on _stealing_ from Link. _"I'm just borrowing! Just borrowing some stuff..."_ Dark thought and tried to believe his own words but it didn't help his feeling of doing totally wrong decision.

Dark took up a small backpack and gathered some clothes for himself. The black and slightly broken tunic was still there where he had left it. The darker Hylian took it and one red tunic into the backpack. Then he walked to the table.

There was bit of paper, pen and ink on it. With really wobbly handwriting and with several mistakes, Dark wrote a short note to Link. He had never before written a thing and only seen Link write. The Hylian text was only known from what he had heard Link read of. Once he was ready with it, Dark looked at his poorly done letter and frowned. _"Not the best but it better be enough."_ He thought, left the paper to the table and exited the room.

Dark locked the door after himself and started his way towards the kitchen. Again, he got lost several times but eventually did come into the kitchen. For the darker Hylian's luck, the room was empty of people. Dark sighed in relief and went to do few sandwiches for himself.

The walk from kitchen to stable was easier and Dark didn't get lost at that time. He was just at the door to the stables when there came really cold question: "Where do you think you're going?"

Dark was startled and turned around real fast. Not too far from him was standing princess Zelda. She had her arms crossed over her chest and angry look on her face. Dark gulped and dropped his gaze into the floor. "Are you going to answer or not?" Zelda asked angrily.

Dark sighed and raised his gaze back up. "I'm leaving. This isn't a place for me." He replied quietly and nervously. "Tell Link that I'm sorry. I'm not meaning to hurt him or anything but... There's just too much of people in here." He continued sadly.

Zelda watched him for a long while in silence. _"I could throw him in jail for stealing. I've been following him whole time but... Link would never forgive me if I did do that."_ She thought and sighed. "You'd better write a letter to Link. He deserves an explanation." The princess said sternly.

Dark nodded straight off. Zelda took out a pen and paper out of her pocket. "Write it right here and now." She demanded while holding them towards the darker Hylian. Dark nodded again and came to get the things from her. He turned against a wall and started to write. Zelda watched bit puzzled. _"Can't he even write right? There's at least three mistakes already and that's more of kid's handwriting than what it would be from a guy of his age!"_ She thought bit startled.

_"At least it's readable and there does come out the truth and all..."_ Zelda continued when Dark was writing his name to the paper. He thought for a while before he added few last thoughts into the letter. The darker Hylian turned around and gave the letter and pen back to the princess.

Zelda sighed and pulled another paper from her pocket. "Before you go, take this with you." She said and gave the paper to Dark. "If you ever need a place to stay, food or any kind of help, just show that paper." Zelda explained.

Dark nodded with a slight smile. "Thank you, princess." He said while putting the signed paper into his pocket. "Is it too much asked that you wouldn't let Link come after me today..." He asked nervously. "It's just that I need bit of time and... I just gotta get used to some of things..." Dark tried his best to explain.

The princess nodded. _"At least we're thinking the same thing on one way..."_ She thought. "You got one day. After that I'm sure that Link will come after you without a second thought." Zelda said, turned around and left to walk back where she had come from. Dark whispered his thanks and went into the stables.

The dark Hylian fetched Storm and petted Epona. He rode out of the stables and through the country yard to the market. The place was empty of people which Dark was happy of. Once he was out of the market place and gotten to the fields, he got Storm to fast trot. Dark left straight towards Lake Hylia.

Zelda watched the darker Hylian leave from the second floor's window. She was actually hoping not to see Dark ever again but knew that Link would not be happy about such situation. Once the rider was out of her sight, she turned around and went to outside of the Infirmary room where Link still was asleep.

It was only after five hours from Dark leaving the castle, that Link woke up. He stretched first and opened his eyes slowly. The second he registered that Dark wasn't in the bed, he shot up. "Dark?!" Link called in slight panic and looked around but he didn't see the darker Hylian anywhere. "Dark!" He shouted, checked underneath the bed but since Dark wasn't there, he ran straight to the doctor's room.

The doctor was still asleep since he had been awake whole night looking after another patient. Link would've loved to wake him up but after quick check up, he had to face the truth. Dark wasn't there. Once this was clarified, Link ran out of the Infirmary area and into the hallway. "Dark!" He kept on calling while starting to run forward on the hallway. _"Where in goddesses' name he can be?!"_ Link panicked.

He checked the kitchen and his own room but didn't notice the small piece of paper that had fallen to floor when he opened the door. Link returned back to the Infirmary but Dark hadn't returned to there. Suddenly he noticed one of the guards and ran straight to him. "Where is Dark?!" Link shouted in fury.

The guard was startled. "Who...What?" He asked in surprise. Link half growled.

"Dark! The guy that I came with here yesterday!" Link explained exaggerated in half hiss. "Where is he?!" He demanded. _"Oh, dear goddesses, don't let him be in the jails!"_ Link prayed quietly.

"I haven't seen him." The guard replied bit uncertainly. He had never gotten Link's fury on him but he had lived long enough to see the Hero's real power against the monsters. "You probably should check the stables..." He continued warily.

Link was bit startled. "Of course! Thanks!" He called and dashed straight towards the stables. _"Why the heck I didn't remember Storm?"_ The Hero thought while running through the corridors and just barely avoiding other people. He didn't even have time to apologize because his mind was whole time at Dark.

Link hit the door open and nearly broke the lock of it. He did fast check on the place and realized soon that Storm was gone. _"NO!"_ He thought in bit panic and ran straight to Epona.

The Hero of Hyrule was just going to jump straight to Epona's back when he saw Zelda with the reddish mare. "Zelda?" Link asked bit puzzled but shook his head straight off. "Sorry but I gotta take Epona... Dark's gone!" He said and was just going to jump into the stable and to the mare when the princess moved right in front of him.

"No." She said as sternly as she could. Link was startled and stared at the princess. "Dark will be fine. He has what he needs and currently, he does want time to think everything out." Zelda continued with a stern look on her face.

Link was too shocked to say or do anything. "But..." He started desperately but Zelda shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Link." She said and took out Dark's letter. "This is for you." Zelda continued and gave the paper to Link. The Hero took the paper still in shock and with slightly shaking hands he opened it.

On the letter was written with wobbly handwriting and mistakes here and there: _"Link, I'm sorry. I borrowed few of your cloths and some food from the kithen, kiten, kitchen. I talked with Zelda and, well, think she hates me. She really wouldnt want us to be in any kind of intracton, itn, intreac, argh, talking with you. Gah, writing s so hard! But my point is, that, well, I need some time to figur things out. There just too many people at there! It freaks me out! I don't know if I come back to castle at all. I'm sorry. I really am. I just need time, Link. I hope you can understand and forgive me. Please, don't hate me for what I've done. I really ned you but I can't live at the castle. I just can't! I left a short note at your room about borowing your clothes and all. I just don't know anything for certain, Link. I just don't know. Forgive me. Dark. I really hate writing."_

Link fought back the tears. He had a small smile on his face since Dark had learned to write just by watching him do it. _"I'd never hate you, Dark. And there's nothing to forgive either. You haven't done anything wrong."_ Link thought while blinking few times and re-reading the paper.

Zelda watched the reactions on the Hero. She really noticed straight off that Link truly cared for the darker Hylian. "Link." The princess called and Link shot his head up and looked straight at Zelda. "Just give him this day to calm down and think it all out. Tomorrow I won't stop you from leaving. Just one day, Link. That's all. Even Dark himself is asking for it." She continued carefully.

Link took one shaking deep breath and nodded. "Alright. I guess I have to accept that." He started sadly. "But tomorrow I will go to search for him, Zelda. Nothing can stop me from that." Link continued with lot stronger voice and the look on his face was really showing not to mess with him about it.

Zelda nodded. "Good. We both have things to be done. I'll see you around, Link." She said and walked right past him to the door. There she stopped and turned around. Link had gone to Epona and was grooming her mane. The princess sighed sadly, turned to the door, opened it and walked into the long hallway.

Link stayed with Epona for few hours so he could gather himself up. He re-read the letter several times with a small smile on his face. _"I gotta teach him to write."_ The Hero thought and grinned a bit. _"But, he's quite good with it already. And that just by watching and listening to me write few love letters to Zelda."_ He continued his thoughts and chuckled a bit.

While Link was with Epona, Zelda had returned to her room. She sat down for a while and let her thoughts to fly. There was so much to be done and so little of time. Most of things were starting to go by routine so she wasn't needed to keep eye on everything but there still were things she wanted to look after. The princess knew that the food and presents were already taken care of. Most of the castle was cleaned and the preparations of the Christmas Ball were on good path. But something came to her mind and she wasn't thoroughly sure about it. None the less she called the castle's best seamstress.

Zelda explained her wishes to her. The old woman listened carefully and nodded once in a while. "There isn't much of time but I think I can get it done." She said slowly.

Zelda nodded. "Thank you. It really would mean a lot to me." She said and the seamstress left the room deep in thought. There had been one same kind of work before so it should be easy. The only difference was the color.

When the night fell, Dark was shivering badly. He had managed to pick the lock to the scientist's house but that was all. The dark Hylian had gotten bit of more wood for the fireplace, eaten some of his snacks and made sure he didn't destroy anything in the house. There just was one simple problem he had.

There was no fire in the fireplace.

Dark had tried many different ways to lit the fire but nothing worked. He didn't know Din's Fire so he couldn't use it. He had tried to hit two rocks together but there had been no sparks. He had tried to rub two sticks together but that had had no effect either.

Eventually Dark gave up. He wasn't going to get fire anytime soon and the house was getting colder whole time. "We'd better search for better place, Storm." The dark Hylian said while getting up. "We could go to the Gerudo's lands. It should be lot warmer at there." He continued while exiting the house and locking the door behind him.

Storm took the road real fast. Dark was shivering but he trusted the black stallion fully. They slowed down when they reached the rocky ground of the start of getting to Gerudo's area. The plank held their weight and Dark looked to the other side of the canyon.

"What do you say, Storm? Here or there?" He asked from the stallion. Storm neighed and nodded. "Over the bridge, then." Dark said with slight chuckle. He got off of the horse and started to guide him over the slightly swinging bridge.

They were close to other end when Dark stopped. He had heard slight snapping sound which got him confused. The sound got louder and suddenly the bridge took a bigger swing downwards. "Shit! Get over, now!" Dark screamed and let go of the reins.

Storm galloped off of the bridge and turned around once he got to the solid ground. Dark ran as fast as he could but the bridge broke underneath him. He screamed while falling down into the canyon. Storm neighed in horror.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

**IMPORTANT!** If any of you know where I can still get Skyward Sword Link action figure (no ebay or such), then please, PLEASE, send me note and a link or a name of the shop! I really want to get him and the site I had used (Anime Island) told that because of lack of orders, they don't get it and so they're returning my money! PLEASE, help me get him! I'm asking as a fellow Link fan!

I**N CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED:** I know this comes late since there's under a week to Christmas, but I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!  
**So, in short:** Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.  
There is **no deadline** for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)  
**NOTE!** Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (kh2demyxfan ) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 20

The black stallion was neighing in fear and worry while staring down from the edge of the canyon. His master was right on the ledge close to the wildly flowing river. He was lying on his back unmoving. Storm paced and neighed as loudly as he could but his master didn't move even slightly. _"Get help!"_ The stallion thought and turned around towards the Fortress.

Storm ran straight inside from the first open door he found while neighing madly. _"Help! Someone help!"_ He thought and jumped right over one of the female guards. She shrieked and followed the black stallion in shock and awe.

The horse came into a small room. He was in panic and rose to his hind legs when the table came out of nowhere right in front of him. The stallion didn't mean it to happen but he broke the table while coming down. "Hey! Stop breaking our home!" The female guard shouted in anger.

_"Good! One's notion taken!"_ Storm thought, rushed out of the room into the warmer winter air. He chose next way inside and made sure he got more to follow him. The guards took out lassos and ran right after the black stallion.

Few got the lasso around Storm's neck. The black stallion freaked out a bit but eventually he got an idea. There was five guards after him and Storm decided that it was enough. He started to run back towards the canyon.

Four female guards were running after the stallion and one was being dragged behind the horse since she held tightly to the rope. "NO! Don't try to jump over!" She screamed when the canyon started to come closer.

_"Not in my intention."_ Storm though, put breaks on and started to skid. The guard screamed while Storm turned to sideways and the female went over the edge. She held tightly to the rope when she fell.

"NO!" The four other guards screamed and ran to the horse. Storm had stopped fully and started to slowly back off while dragging the female guard upwards from the canyon. The four other guards came to the edge and looked down.

"Hey! There's someone lying on the ledge!" One of them shouted and the one holding on to the rope for her dear life looked down. "We need to help that person! Go fetch help!" She continued and two guards left to run back to the Fortress.

Storm pulled the Gerudo female up and went then straight to the edge. He was neighing madly and looking down to Dark. "You're owner?" One of the guards asked and Storm nodded in slight fear. "Don't worry, we'll help." The guard continued and slightly petted the stallion.

Soon there came more of female guards. They were having different kind of things with them like rope, blankets and such. Storm was moved away from his place but let to stay close to the ledge so he could keep on watching. The guards were quick on their work and tied fast ropes around themselves and two left to go down into the canyon. They had the blankets with them.

The two female Gerudos got down and kneeled right next to unconscious Dark. "He's alive!" One of the females shouted up and started to help her friend. They carefully tied Dark into the blankets and made sure it was tight enough. After that they checked to be enough far from each other to make sure that the unconscious guy was lying straight. Then they pulled few times on their ropes.

The other Gerudos started to pull the two up in equal speed. The two hanging from the ropes made sure that their patient didn't hit the harsh wall of the canyon while going upwards. At same time they made sure to be going upwards on equal speed and called out to others if the pace changed.

Once getting close enough to the edge, they stopped. Four other Gerudos came close and carefully pulled the dark Hylian up from the canyon. Once the Hylian was on solid ground the two Gerudos climbed up. Right after that they moved the Hylian to a trolley and started to rush him into their fortress.

Storm followed in full panic. He didn't let anyone to keep him from following his master right inside the first room. The black stallion laid down not too far from the small bed where Dark was laid down to.

The Gerudos started to work around him. One started to make food and mixed it with three different potions to make sure their patient would heal. Other one checked the dark Hylian in case of broken bones and harsh wounds. Third and fourth Gerudos went to get blankets and other needed things. Storm watched in bit of worry but trusting these women to look after his master.

Once the soup was ready, they did get Dark to drink a bit. He didn't wake up but they made sure things were starting to heal. The worst part was the wound on his side which had re-opened when he hit the ground at the bottom of the canyon. There was also slight fracture in the dark Hylians legs and arms. Luckily nothing had been thoroughly broken but they couldn't know if there was some internal damage. That was the reason for the soup mixed with the three potions. Those were to heal him from inside and outside.

Link hadn't slept well during the night. He woke up many times during the night. The last day was still brightly in his mind and worry for Dark's safety was nearly killing him. The Hero stayed up nearly half of the night until he was sure enough that he could leave the castle without getting reprimanded by the princess.

Epona was already awake when Link came to there. She neighed to him and Link nodded while going to get the needed things. The mare took fast trot once Link got up on her back. She knew straight off to head to Lake Hylia even without Link's command.

The air was cold and there was slight snowing. Last night had been hard wind blowing around Hyrule and it had worried Link even more. _"I should've made sure he knew some of things... I should've known that he was going to leave! I should've know it!"_ Link thought in desperation. _"He can't even start a fire... Oh, goddesses! I just hope he's gone to get help! He could go to Kokiri Forest to my old house. It should be having some warmth throughout year."_ He continued and tried to feel hopeful.

"Dark!" The Hero called straight off when he got to Lake Hylia. There was no hoofmarks anywhere. "Dark! Are you here?!" Link continued and jumped off of Epona. He walked straight to the scientist's house and unlocked the door. _"He's been here..."_ The Hero thought straight off when he saw the inside of the house.

There were unburned wood in the fireplace. There was some ice in the floor where the snow had slightly melted and frozen again. One chair was moved from the table and there was a wrapping paper in the fireplace.

"Dark?!" Link called out but there was no answer. The Hero sighed defeated and exited the house. He called Epona and got up on her back. "We'd better check few places since Dark's not here." Link told her and guided the mare out of Lake Hylia.

They checked Kokiri Forest first but there was no notion of the darker Hylian. Link even went as far as to the Forest Temple but it was equally empty. He left the place and got Epona to gallop into Kakariko Village. Yet, he still came empty handed from there too. No-one had given shelter to Dark nor was he in any of the Temples of the area. Link even went to visit the Gorons and the Dodongo's Cave but still no sign of Dark.

The evening had already fallen but Link didn't care. He got the mare to gallop and straight towards the Gerudo Fortress. Epona slowed down when she came to the rocky area and slightly before she came to jump over the first bridge, Link cursed. The second bridge was broken. And there was no ledge Epona could've used to jump over it.

"Damn it!" Link cursed and came down from Epona. He walked carefully to the edge and looked down. The Hero sighed in relief when there was no notion of either Dark nor Storm at the long ledge close to the fast going river. _"Thank the goddesses that he hasn't been here when the bridge broke."_ Link thought and went back to Epona. _"I gotta check this place later once the bridge is fixed. Then I'll know if Dark's gotten to other side..."_ He continued with slight sadness.

The last place Link checked was Lon Lon Ranch. Malon was glad to see Link but the Hero didn't find what he was looking for. He sighed and left the place heading straight towards the Hyrule Castle.

Link had one last thing in his mind and he talked off to the people who still were at the market place. He sighed sadly when it came out that Dark hadn't been seen or heard of anywhere around the market. The Hero returned to the castle and got Epona ready for the night. On his way back to his room, Link talked off with construction workers and got a promise from them to start working with the bridge early in the next day.

Link went to bed feeling worried and sad. He hadn't got any notion about the darker Hylian and he only hoped for him to be at the Gerudo Fortress. That was the only place he hadn't been able to check. _"Oh, dear goddesses, let him be okay. Let him have crossed the bridge before it broke..."_ Link prayed before falling asleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

I**N CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED:** I know this comes late since there's under a week to Christmas, but I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!  
**So, in short:** Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.  
There is **no deadline** for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)  
**NOTE!** Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (kh2demyxfan ) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

WOOHOO! The world didn't end! XD Not that I even belived in the world ending thing.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 21

Link rode with the construction workers to the broken bridge of Gerudo area. He just couldn't stay at the castle and he really wanted to know when the work would be done. The workers looked around and checked about the lost bridge. While the five main workers were planning the next bridge rest of the group was putting up tents and needed things in order.

Link stayed on Epona and waited patiently for news. Eventually the leader of the group came to him. "If weather stays the same, the work should be done before Christmas." He told to the Hero.

"How much before Christmas?" Link asked carefully. He didn't like the look on the man's face but waited quietly for the answer.

"During the day before Christmas. The leader of Gerudos will be able to join into the Christmas Ball. No worries in there." He continued with a nod. Link sighed but nodded. The leader was bit confused but decided to drop the conversation to there.

"Thanks. I'll leave you guys to your work." Link replied bit sadly and left the area. He had hoped for the work to be done lot earlier but he can't rush them. The Hero left back to the castle to start to work up with the preparations for the upcoming Ball.

Meanwhile Dark woke up slowly. His head hurt badly and he wasn't feeling too well either. "Here, eat this." Someone said and without much of other choice given, he did eat the soup. It had lots of tastes he had never had before. "Just rest a bit longer. You're healing well." The unknown person said. Dark just nodded and laid back down on the bed.

The dark Hylian didn't dare to fall asleep. He had no idea where he was and who was with him. It sure didn't sound like Link at all and besides if it would've been Link, he would've sure as hell called him by name by now. Slowly Dark opened his eyes to look around.

The room was dimly lit. The only light came from the fireplace and from the long hallway to outside. There was one person in the room with him but that person had back turned towards him at the time. Storm was sleeping not too far from him. In middle of the room was table and two long wooden benches next to it.

Dark sat up slowly and watched the person carefully. He suddenly remembered having been at the bridge when it broke. _"This gotta be the Gerudo Fortress. And if I remember right, Link said that the only ones who live in here are... females..."_ The dark Hylian thought and suddenly blushed bright red. _"Just my luck to come to a place like this... Oh, why didn't I go to Kakariko Village or Kokiri Forest?!"_ He continued while closing his eyes and wishing to just disappear right then and there.

"Oh! You're awake!" The guard shouted. Dark was fully startled and he shot his eyes open. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." The woman continued while coming right in front of him. "How are you feeling?" She continued sincerely.

"Uh..." Dark started and blushed even more when the female guard started to laugh. _"I hate this!"_ He thought while closing his eyes again.

"You're like Link when he came here for the first time." The guard said laughing. She smiled and sat down on the rocky floor. "So, seriously... How are you feeling?" She continued bit worriedly.

Dark took once a deep breath and tried to calm down. He wasn't thoroughly sure how he was feeling. It was a mix of feelings and he wasn't exactly able to name even one of them. So, he just decided to shrug. The guard giggled and shook his head.  
"Can you even speak?" She asked with slight grin on her face.

Dark deadpanned a bit. "Yeah, I can talk." He replied slightly harshly. The comment only got her to giggle even more. Dark sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, okay..." The guard started still slightly laughing. "How about we'd start from somewhere easier... What's your name?" She continued.

Before Dark had a chance to answer, two other Gerudos came to the room. "Oh, hey, look! He's awake!" One of the new females shouted and rushed right in front of Dark. The other one was close behind.

Dark was startled and backed off a bit but the wall came to stop him. The females giggled a bit. "So, how is our guest doing?" One of the new guards asked carefully. The one who had been in the room in the first place just shrugged.

"I was just asking for his name." The guard said and turned back to Dark. "I'm Rasha and these two are Naira and Aztar." She introduced herself and her two friends.

Dark nodded bit awkwardly. "I'm Dark." He replied bit uncertainly. The three guards looked at each other bit confused.

"Um... We'll be right back." Rasha said and nodded to her two friends to follow. Dark frowned a bit but stayed put. Trio walked right behind the corner and Dark stood up slightly shaking. He was going to follow them but wasn't feeling well enough for it so he sat back down.

The three guards started to whisper quietly about their guest's name and Dark was slightly hurt when he noticed to be actually hearing their talks. _"I never thought my name would be..._ odd_..."_ He thought sadly.

"Did we actually hear it right?" Rasha asked confused. Her friends shrugged.

"Maybe his parents just had lack of ideas." Naira replied bit worriedly.

Aztar shook her head. "Or then..." She started and grinned a bit. "You guys don't notice anything about him?" She asked grinning.

Rasha and Naira thought for a while before grinning too and nodding. "You're right... He does resemble Link a lot. His skin is just lot darker as well as his hair." Naira said eagerly.

Aztar nodded. "Exactly. Maybe he's related to Link or... Maybe he was in reality called as Dark_ Link_ but within time the second name just dropped off." She said shrugging. Naira and Rasha nodded eagerly. Right after that they went back to Dark.

"Sorry it took a while..." Rasha started and came to sit right in front of Dark. The dark Hylian just nodded while thinking whether or not he should tell them that he had heard them talk about his name.

"Do you know Link, the Hero of Hyrule?" Naira asked straight off when she got to sit next to Rasha. Dark was slightly startled but he didn't have time to answer to the question.

"Naira!" Rasha shouted in bit of shock. "Let him rest a while, please!" She continued huffing. "Just ignore her and... well..." The Gerudo continued bit uncertainly.

Dark smiled slightly. "Nah, it's okay." He replied with slight shrug. "And yeah, I know Link." The dark Hylian continued with a nod. Naira's eyes brightened.

"Can you tell something about him, please?!" She half shouted. Rasha groaned and shook her head.

"You really think he wants to talk about him?!" She asked bit angrily. Naira was startled but so was Dark. Aztar had sat down on the bench beside the table and sighed from there.

"How about you'd let Dark to actually answer and not interrupt whole time, Rahs?" She asked carefully.

"No-one asked from you!" Rasha replied turning around. Dark was really confused and bit scared at there while watching the three women fight right in front of him.

"Hey! Calm down, please!" Dark called in desperation. "I don't know how much I can tell but, well... I don't know..." He continued and sighed sadly. _"Link never taught me to deal with fighting women... Or with fighting people, period."_ Dark thought desperately.

The guards turned towards him bit surprised. "You sure? I just thought you might want some rest..." Rasha started bit worriedly.

Dark smiled bit uncertainly. "It's okay, really." He replied with slight nervous chuckle. Rasha just nodded but all three stayed quiet for a long while. "So... Isn't anyone asking a thing?" Dark asked bit confused.

"Oh, right!" Naira shouted while getting back her happy mood. "Um..." She actually started to blush and didn't find anything to ask. Dark looked confused and just waited. Rasha laughed.

"Should've figure out." She said grinning. "Well... If it's no problem for you, I'd have a question." Rasha continued with a smile. Dark just nodded since he wasn't fully trusting his voice. "Has Link said anything about the upcoming Christmas Ball?"

Dark plinked in surprise. "Ball? What ball?" He asked confused. The three female guards looked equally surprised and looked at each other in slight shock.

"How long you've actually lived around Hyrule?" Rasha asked bit unbelieving. Dark gulped. He really wasn't sure how to answer to that.

"Uh, not long... Why?" He replied. _Living_ was concept that had two different meaning for Dark. And he decided to go with the word that actually meant _being thoroughly alive with feelings_. For that, the answer was about few days.

"Ah! So, you've just come for a visit, I assume?" Rasha continued while her sprit brightened up again. Dark just nodded since he wasn't fully sure what he should reply to the question. "Well, that explains it." Rasha said nodding. "So, girls, how about we'd give a crash-course about Christmas Ball to our guest, hmm?" She stated with a grin.

Aztar and Naira nodded eagerly. Aztar even came from the table next to Dark's bed. "There are three main things you need to know about a Christmas Ball... Or actually about any Ball." Naira started eagerly.

Dark was totally confused but stayed quiet and just nodded. "The first thing is how to dress up to the Ball." Aztar started. "You need lot better and cooler clothes than what you currently are wearing. Women usually have a night gown or a dress. Those have beautiful colors and some jewelry with them. Usually there's a theme of some kind for the Ball... Like in this case it's for Christmas." She started.

Dark just nodded but it had no sense to him at all. The confusion was fully sawn on his face since Aztar actually quieted down. The guards looked at each other before giggling. "You actually still don't have any glue about what I'm talking about, huh?" Aztar asked laughing.

Dark blushed and dropped his gaze to floor. "Oh, don't worry. We'll start from the very beginning." Naira said smiling. "Rasha, you can give main info about the Ball." She continued and nodded to her friend.

Rasha nodded back. "Okay." She started and turned to look at Dark. "Christmas Ball is a dance. People will meet each other, have some small snacks and some dancing. From every kingdom comes people to there. Most have gotten an invitation to it but there is also few crashers too but mostly they don't cause any trouble. But, the main thing is beautiful dresses, having fun and dancing."

Dark nodded slowly. "You still following?" Naira asked and the dark Hylian nodded again. "Good! Then to the main things about the Ball!" She said and clapped her hands together.

"The tree needed things are right dressing code, being a gentleman and knowing how to dance." Naira continued with a wide smile. "Still following?" She asked and got a quick nod from Dark. "Good! You're turn Aztar!"

Aztar nodded. "As I was telling about the dressing code, women dress up into a long... Well..." She thought for a long while. Aztar couldn't be sure that Dark would've ever seen a dress before. The guy could be from small town far away from Hyrule and just gotten to here. "Uh... You've ever had a chance to see Princess Zelda?" She eventually asked. Dark nodded without hesitation. "Okay, good. She always has a dress on her. Now, just think it with lot of shining rocks and with brighter colors. That should be more or less what women are to be having on them at the Ball." Aztar said.

Dark was still slightly confused but nodded. "Good. Now for men like you." Aztar continued and grinned a bit. Dark was slightly startled but stayed quiet. "Most have a knight's clothes on. Some may have more colorful uniform with them. It's mainly about how their own people have the celebration clothes." She explained as well as she could.

Dark nodded again but the explanation hadn't been any of help for him. "Uh... Naira, your turn." Aztar said bit sad. She knew she hadn't been able to give good enough explanation for their guest but she didn't have anything better to say either.

Naira smiled gladly. "And now for dancing!" She shouted and stood up.

"NO!" Both Aztar and Rasha shouted and pulled her back down. Dark was badly startled and stared at the three females in front of him. "Not yet with that. He needs to heal slightly more before _that_." Rasha hissed and sighed then.

Naira was bit angry and pouted a bit while showing her tongue at her friends. Aztar shook her head while Rasha laughed bit nervously. "Sorry about that." She said and smiled slightly at Dark.

"So... How to talk to a lady." Rasha started and soon she was fully in her thoughts.

"You need to compliment women about nearly anything you can come up with!" Naira shouted eagerly. She startled all three and laughed at that. "You just say things like 'You look beautiful', or 'Your eyes shine brighter than the stars', or—" She started until Aztar came between.

"Shush it!" She barked and sighed. "Compliments, yes but mainly it is about the way you talk." Aztar said bit exaggerated. "You need to be confident and look like you'd know exactly where you are and where you are going." She continued and looked straight at Dark.

"Nervousness will put you straight off into bad light. Especially in front of every other male. They'll just push their own way right over you." Rasha continued. "And when someone is trying to get you mad, just stay cool. Don't let them get into your skin."

"That's right." Aztar said. "There is at least one idiot that is a total ladies' man but full bastard toward other men." She warned. "He does everything to get other guys in bad light. Hell, he's even trying to do that to _Link_ for goddesses sake!" Aztar half shouted.

"I don't understand why that guy is at there." Naira said bit sadly. "That guy really doesn't deserve the invitation." She continued huffing angrily.

Rasha sighed. "I know. The only reason for him to be there is that he's the best knight the guy's kingdom has. That's why he keeps on coming." She explained sadly.

"So, if you go to there, just stay cool and collected. Don't let anyone to try and get you angry." Aztar stated. "We will help you on any of way we can." She continued with a smile and nod.

Dark smiled a bit and nodded. He was starting to slightly calm down. There was so much he didn't know but he was learning whole time. The dark Hylian straight off hated the guy the guards talked about. _"No-one, and I really mean NO-ONE is going to defame Link if there's something I can do about it."_ Dark thought bit angrily.

"Well, then there is only practice and the dancing part anymore." Naira said grinning. "And I call the dancing part for myself!" She shouted straight off. Aztar and Rasha sighed but nodded.

"Fine. But that's for tomorrow. Now we check how well he can talk with girls." Aztar said grinning. Dark gulped. He knew to be already shy among people and now... He really wished that Link would've been with him. At least he could've counted on his help.

The female guards laughed a bit at Dark's slight fear. "Oh, don't worry! We won't bite!" Naira shouted smiling. "All you need to do is to be yourself." She continued sincerely.

Dark nodded and took once a deep breath. He still was confused and even scared. There was only one thing that kept him there besides the broken bridge and not being fully healthy yet. _"These are Link's friends. They won't hurt me because I know Link."_ Dark thought and tried to calm down.

"You ready?" Rasha asked and Dark nodded bit hesitantly. "Okay, we'll start a conversation with you and you are to talk back. As simple as that." She said smiling. Dark nodded again but he still wasn't thoroughly sure about it at all.

For the start it was simple questioning and answering. Dark started to calm down a bit and started to talk slightly more. After some time they changed parts. They got Dark after short coaxing to start to ask things off. The three female guards stopped him every time they noticed something that wasn't fully accepted.

"No, no, no! Don't talk about girls! Talk about ladies! That's what they like!" Naira half shouted and bit startled Dark. "And be more like Link! Don't be so _shy_!" She continued with a bit angry huff.

Dark tried to not to show how much that had hurt. _"That's _exactly_ what I'm trying."_ He thought bit sadly.

"Hey, she didn't mean anything bad, okay?" Rasha said and laid her hand over Dark's shoulder. Dark was startled and he looked up to the female guard. "Don't worry. You'll get the hang of this real fast. Besides, you've learned a lot already." She said smiling.

"I think we should keep a break. Food would be a good idea." Aztar said and went to get few bowls from close by of the fire place. Naira and Rasha nodded.

"Food sounds like a good idea." Rasha said smiling. "I'm sure you're hungry too, Dark." She continued and looked at the dark Hylian. Dark nodded eagerly. At least a meal time would give a slight break and let him to think about all the new things that had come up.

After the meal they continued to teach Dark. The dark Hylian had calmed down a lot and was actually having fun. He liked the way they taught him to talk with females. He even got all three once in a while to blush and that made the Hylian to grin a bit.

"Alright, I think it would be time to let Dark rest a bit." Rasha said eventually. Naira groaned a bit but left the room. "You too, Aztar." Rasha continued. "If Dark wants we can continue tomorrow." She said and turned to Dark.

Dark smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a good idea." He replied and his smile widened a bit when the three female guards smiled at him. Aztar nodded and left the room after Naira.

Rasha stayed at the room and went to sit to the bench. Dark looked bit confused at her. The female guard chuckled a bit. "This is actually my room. And besides, someone gotta look after you." She said with a wink.

Dark blushed a bit but nodded. "Just sleep. And don't worry about me. I can easily sleep on the floor or at here on the bench." She continued with a sincere smile. Dark nodded again, yawned a bit and laid down. Rasha sighed, closed her eyes and leaned against the table. It didn't take long from her to fall asleep but Dark stayed up long into the night since there was so much in his mind that he couldn't fully figure out.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

DARK'S THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED! Go read it if you want to know his thoughts!

I**N CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED:** I know this comes late since there's under a week to Christmas, but I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!  
**So, in short:** Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.  
There is **no deadline** for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)  
**NOTE!** Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (can be found on my profile page) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 22

Link sighed. He was bored and hating his work of checking that everything was to be done in time. The Hero had already gone early in the morning to check the construction work of the bridge. It was already in good going but not even half done.

Link spent few hours at there. He hoped to see at least one of the Gerudos at there but he had no luck with it. _"Why can't I even get a chance to know if he's there or not?"_ Link thought sadly. Sighing, he left the area so the work could be done properly without him watching over it.

The Hero retuned again back to the castle. He decided to get himself something to do but nearly everyone was telling him to get off of their way. Link sighed and returned back to the stables. He had checked the post office but there was nothing to be done. Everyone was doing their best to get the preparations for the Christmas Ball done. That was also the reason Link stayed at the stables and spent his time with Epona.

While Link had woken up early, Dark slept long. Yesterday had gotten him very tired even though it had taken him a long while before he actually fell asleep. The main reason for it was the massive amount of information. He still didn't know even half of what he had been told.

"Is he awake yet?" Dark heard one of the three women ask. He wasn't fully sure but thought it to be Naira's voice. The dark Hylian just shifted bit on the bed but kept his eyes closed. He really wasn't eager to get up yet.

"Shush it. Let him sleep." Rasha replied quietly. She glanced at Dark before turning back to her friends. Aztar had brought a guitar and Naira had brought drums to there.

"Just bit of music for the dance session." She had said while grinning widely. Rasha had just nodded and showed a place for the instruments. After that they had just waited patiently for Dark to wake up. Naira, though, was impatient and kept on asking over and over again if their guest was awake yet.

Eventually Dark yawned a bit while getting up. "Morning, ladies." He said with a slight smile. The three female guards grinned widely.

"Seems you really have learned something." Rasha said happily. "And good morning to you too, Dark." She continued with a nod. Dark's smile widened a bit and he sat fully up.

"Dance time!" Naira shouted and jumped off of her place on the bench. Dark was fully startled while Rasha facepalmed.

"Not yet, Naira!" She growled, tackled her and turned apolitically to Dark. "Sorry about her. She really loves to dance." Rasha said bit nervously and turned to Naira. "For goddesses sake, Naira, let him wake up fully and get something to eat!" She half hissed to her friend.

"Aww! But Rasha!" Naira whined and pouted a bit. Rasha didn't let go of her nor did the look on her face get any easier. "Oh, fine!" Naira said bit angrily. Rasha got off and Naira turned her back to her friend.

Rasha shook her head. "Don't worry about her. She'll get over it lot sooner than you can think of." She said with a smile. "So... Do you want to wash up first or eat?" The Gerudo asked.

Dark was still bit surprised but shook his head a bit to calm down again. "I'm not sure..." The dark Hylian replied with slight shrug. Rasha chuckled a little.

"Alright. Maybe a nice wash up would be good start for the day." She said and walked to him. "Come, I'll show where you can change clothes and wash up." Rasha continued and offered her hand. Dark was bit unsure about the situation but nodded and accepted the offered hand.

Dark looked around for his backpack, or actually Link's backpack which he had _borrowed_ without rights, and was shocked not to find Storm. "Where's Storm?" He asked straight off once he was on his feet.

"Oh, that stallion?" Aztar asked and Dark nodded. "He's with other horses at back. He was needing bit of looking after too." She explained. The shocked look on Dark's face got her to continue. "Nothing bad! He's perfectly fine but needing bit of food and grooming!"

Dark sighed and nodded. "Yeah, should've figured out. Sorry." He replied bit nervously.

Aztar shook her head. "No worries. You had all the rights to get worried." She replied with a smile. Dark nodded and picked up the backpack from close by of the bed.

"Just follow me." Rasha said and started to guide Dark out of the room and through the corridors. They met with several other Gerudos. Rasha greeted them all and Dark nodded to them with a smile.

"Take your time at there. Don't rush. I'll be right here when you're ready." Rasha said and leaned against the close by wall to another room. Dark nodded, thanked her and entered the room. Rasha closed her eyes and stayed put. She listened carefully to surrounding sounds so she could know if Dark was needing any of help. Also, she was on guard if someone else was coming to there.

It didn't take long from Dark to wash up and change clothes. He chose a blue tunic this since it wasn't that of cold around there. Besides, it was closest to black he could think of. "All done?" Rasha asked when Dark came out. He nodded smiling and Rasha left to take him back to her own room.

Once they did return, the table was already set for four persons. "Just take a seat. I'm sure you're already hungry." Rasha said and nodded towards the table. Dark took the backpack next to the bed and chose then his place. Aztar served the soup before taking her own seat.

They ate in silence. Dark had time to think about the place and the people he had already met. He still wasn't fully sure about how much he could tell about himself and he was bit scared about what the _dance_ was meaning... Not to mention those strange things in the corner of the room.

Once they were ready, Naira started to gather the plates and other things off. Aztar and Rasha walked to the instruments and picked them up. "Before Naira drags you into a dance, we thought you might want to listen to some of the music." Rasha said while starting to pluck at the strings of the guitar.

Dark nodded smiling. _"The only music I've ever heard is Link playing his Ocarina. This is will be cool."_ He thought and closed his eyes. The music started by the guitar and was soon companied by the drums. Dark couldn't help but smile. He liked it very much.

When Naira came back she was first going to take Dark up but Rasha's warning look stopped her. She huffed a bit but grinned soon. "So, shall I show to you what dancing is?" Naira said, made a fast curtsy and let the music take her. Dark had been slightly startled but soon watched quite awed at her going. Naira had her eyes closed but her dancing was graceful.

After some time Naira came right in front of Dark. "Shall we dance?" She asked while offering her hand to him. Dark was bit startled but sighed then.

"I don't think I know how." He replied but decided to take the offer none the less. Naira giggled while dragging the dark Hylian in middle of the room.

"Don't worry! I'll teach you!" She replied smiling. Aztar and Rasha changed the song slightly and Naira started to lead the dance. She often fixed Dark's movements and the hold. In midway of the song, Dark started to get hang of the movements.

Naira giggled. "That's the way, Dark! You're doing great!" She complimented smiling.

Dark nodded with slight grin. "Thanks. This is actually quite fun." He replied.

"Just one simple thing, my friend." Naira said grinning. Dark was surprised more about the words than of her tone of voice. He did raise his gaze from their feet to her face. "Keep your eyes at your dance partner." She continued grinning. Dark blushed slightly and nodded.

"Also, when you ask a lady for a dance, you'd better bow." Naira said grinning. Dark was once again startled and he looked bit confused at her. Naira giggled and shook her head. "You really don't know what I'm talking about, huh?" She asked.

Dark blushed bit and turned his gaze off. Naira giggled again and stopped dancing. Dark raised his gaze up in surprise. "This is how to _bow_." She said and did bow. "Your turn." The Gerudo said once she straightened up.

"Wait!" Aztar shouted. "You're forgetting few other things, Naira." She said, stopped playing and put the drums off. "Let me show." She continued and took Naira's place right in front of Dark.

Aztar grinned widely at Dark. "So, let's pretend that I'm a guy and you're a lady." She said while her grin widened even more. Dark raised his eyebrow in total_ What-the-heck?_-look. Aztar laughed but started her part of the teaching.

She bowed to Dark with a smile on her face. "Shall I have this dance?" Aztar asked while offering her hand to him. Dark wasn't fully sure what to do or say but played along and accepted. Naira and Rasha started to play their instruments and Aztar led Dark few steps towards the musicians. Right after that she took the lead on the dance.

"On this point, it is always nice to compliment your dance partner." Aztar said smiling. Dark stayed silent. He was still in shock and confusion. "Something like..." The Gerudo continued but quieted for a while before eventually smiling genuinely. "Your eyes are unique." She said while slightly blushing.

"Uh... Thanks, I guess..." Dark replied quietly. It really had taken him off guard. Aztar nodded and smiled. Her blush was slowly fading while she tried to concentrate in the teaching part.

"Um... Just be confident..." Aztar continued while trying to get hold of her own feelings. Dark nodded but he really wasn't feeling any of that. The whole situation was confusing and bit odd. "And... Um... I don't know..." Aztar said and stopped dancing.

Dark frowned a bit. "Is everything okay?" He asked bit worriedly. "Did I say or do something wrong?" The dark Hylian continued.

Aztar shook her head. "No, it's not about you..." She replied and took one deep breath. "I'll let Naira continue..." She continued quietly and without looking at Dark, she walked to Naira and changed places with her.

Both Naira and Rasha were bit shocked at Aztar's change of mood. They looked at each other but did as she had said. Naira looked once bit confused at Aztar but stayed silent. Her face brightened when she turned her gaze to Dark. "You're turn, Dark. Show if you learned anything." Naira said grinning.

Dark wasn't eager about the situation but didn't want to hurt Link's friends, so he nodded and took once a deep breath. _"You can do this. It's not that of hard..."_ He thought while taking up a small smile and walked to Naira. He mimicked Aztar as well as he could and looked straight at Naira's eyes when he asked: "Can I have this dance, please?"

Naira nodded eagerly and let him take the lead. _"That wasn't exactly what she had said..."_ Dark thought but hoped he hadn't said things too much wrong. _"At least she's not correcting me."_ He continued and tried to enjoy his time. The only thing that he wasn't too happy was the fact that he couldn't come up with any good compliments for her.

After some time they kept second meal break and it gave time for Dark to think about the situation and what he had already learned. He half listened to what the three ladies were talking but was mostly in his own thoughts. After the meal, Dark eventually collected his courage and asked one simple, yet important, question: "If it's okay, I would love to see Storm."

The Gerudos looked at each other and then at Dark. "Of course it's okay! We were so concentrated on teaching you that we totally forgot your stallion. I'm really sorry about it." Rasha said sadly.

Dark smiled and shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I had fun too." He said and stood up. "So, umm, where to?" He continued bit nervously.

"How about we all show you?" Naira asked smiling. Dark nodded and waited until the three Gerudos had managed to clean the table. After that they led the dark Hylian out of the room, through the short corridor and out of the whole house. They took the road to back of the houses and came to the arching area.

There was four horses under a nice and well shaded area. One of them was Storm. The black stallion looked up when he heard people coming. He neighed happily and trotted straight to Dark. The dark Hylian laughed and petted his stallion. "Hey there! Don't you dare to think that I would've forgotten you." He told to the horse happily smiling. Storm just neighed in response. "Yeah, nice to see you too." Dark replied.

The three Gerudos were few meters behind Dark and watched smiling how the dark Hylian greeted his stallion. They glanced at each other and nodded. "Could we show you something?" Rasha asked.

Dark turned around bit startled, chuckled nervously and nodded. "Okay, wait here with Naira and Aztar." Rasha continued and went to the remaining three horses. She chose one dark brown horse with black mane. The Gerudo took up a crossbow and arrows from close by hook before getting on the horse. "Just watch this." She said and guided the horse to the arching grounds.

Dark watched amazed when she started her show. She didn't guide the horse at all but concentrated to shoot the targets. Most hit the bull's-eye but not all. She shot all 20 arrows and slowed the horse after finishing the course.

"Horseback arching. Ever tried that?" Rasha asked grinning. Dark was at loss of words but he managed to shook his head. "Well, then. Get on Storm and give it a try." She continued. Dark turned to Storm and the stallion nodded eagerly.

"Okay. I give it a try." He replied smiling and got real fast onto Storm's back.

"Here." Aztar said and gave Dark a bow and quiver with 20 arrows. "Try to shoot either the pots or middle of the target for better points." She advised. Dark nodded and guided Storm to the start of the course. "Ready, set, go!" Aztar shouted and Storm took off.

Dark was first bit surprised and not fully concentrating. He missed the few first pots and targets before taking a grip of himself. _"You can do this."_ The dark Hylian thought, calmed himself down and took aim. It hit the target but not the middle of it. He tried to hit the next pot but it missed, so he decided to concentrate to the targets since those were bit easier ones. Storm took the turn and Dark was bit startled but managed to say on the stallion's back. He calmed down again and took aim. The next arrow did hit the middle of the target. Dark grinned but his smile dropped a bit when next hit the target but just barely. The course was over way too soon for Dark's disappointment.

Naira checked the points. "Not bad for first time but not good enough to get to the board." She said sadly.

"How much do I need to get to there?" Dark asked interested. Naira walked to the board to check the right amount.

"At least thousand." She replied. Soon Naira grinned. "Though, the best score is set by Link." She continued.

"Should've guessed that much. What's the best score then?" Dark replied unsurprised. Naira turned back to the board and whistled. "That much?" The dark Hylian asked bit uncertain.

Naira nodded. "He's got the best there is capable to get. Two thousand points." She replied. Dark just nodded but the look on his face was already telling that he was bound to try and get even with Link. "You gonna try again?" Naira asked and Dark nodded without even thinking. "Thought so. Here's your arrows. I know you can make better score now."

Dark thanked her and took Storm back to the course. _"Don't concentrate to the points. Just concentrate to get to hit the targets. No more, no less. Once you get to hit the targets without even one miss, you can concentrate to work with your skill of aiming."_ He thought while waiting for the countdown. Right after that Storm took off on a gallop. It still took Dark off of guard but he was fast to gather himself and concentrate to shooting the targets.

The dark Hylian did get a better score but still far from getting the needed thousand points. With the three Gerudos' rights, Dark went for third round. He was getting used to shooting arrows while riding. Not to mention he really wanted to show himself that he was capable of achieving same as Link, the best score one could get on the course.

The third round went better than the two earlier ones, yet he still was lacking in the score to get to the board. "You improve fast." Naira said smiling. Dark nodded while coming to the three Gerudo guards. "You might want to get a short rest before you try again." She continued.

Dark glanced towards the course but nodded. "Might be a good idea." He replied while coming off of Storm's back. He watched how Naira fetched a young mare of the color of light sand. The horse followed her at first but stopped then. The mare stared right at Dark. Naira looked at Dark and back to her mare. She continued walking towards the arching ground but the mare stood on her place.

"Come on, Sandstorm! I want to show my skills too!" Naira half whined but the horse shook her head. "That's Dark, the owner of Storm. Now, come on." She introduced the dark Hylian. Sandstorm pawed the ground and kept her gaze on Dark.

Dark glanced at Storm who shook his head. "Stubborn, huh?" The dark Hylian asked from his stallion. Storm nodded and neighed quietly. "Do you like her?" Dark continued with slight grin. The black stallion half snorted with quiet neigh and slightly shook his head while lowering it towards ground. Dark chuckled slightly.

"How can you be so in connect with your stallion, Dark?" Naira asked in amazement. Dark was slightly startled. He turned around slightly nervously chuckling.

"Not sure. I've lived with Storm since we both were just kids. We practically raised each other." He replied chuckling and shrugged a bit. Storm just nodded eagerly.

"Can you teach me to be that close with Sandstorm?" Naira continued in awe. Dark glanced at Storm while shrugging.

"I'm not sure I can teach much." He warned. "Besides, I think Link would be better to give help with horses." Dark continued without even thinking about it much.

"Maybe but he's not around currently, now is he?" Naira asked grinning. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Dark's reply. Dark answered to the grin and nodded.

"True to that. So..." He answered with slight nod. "The first thing is to learn to know your horse's likes and hates. For example Storm loves to run as fast as he can but he hates it if saddle is used." Dark stated. _"How in earth I actually know that? I mean I haven't been alive than few days... Well, I have lived with Storm ever since I was first created..."_ Dark thought bit shocked about how much he did know about Storm and horses in overall.

Naira nodded. "I do know that much. I know how to look after her and all. I need the knowledge of getting as close as you and Storm are." She said bit exaggerated.

Dark nodded again. "Yeah, right... Sorry, I guess I started from too much of start." He said and chuckled bit nervously. "Well... The main thing, I guess, is to ask simple yes or no questions. After that comes the further part. There you need to understand the smaller notions such as how the ears are or what your horse does do." Dark explained carefully.

"Demonstrate." Rasha stated. She had went to sit by the close by fence with Aztar. The other female guard nodded eagerly.

Dark laughed a bit and grinned. "As you please." He replied and turned to Storm. The stallion looked straight at his owner. "Okay, starting from easy since for some reason I can't really come up with good questions." He started bit nervously. "So, do you like carrots?" Dark eventually asked without coming up with anything better.

Storm nodded eagerly. Dark nodded back and thought for another question. "What about cold air?" He asked carefully. Storm shook his head madly. Dark chuckled. "Yeah, not my fave either." He replied and grinned a little. "What about snow?" Dark asked. The stallion did same move that was mix of shaking and lowering his head down. "So, you're not fully sure, huh?" Dark tried to figure it out. Storm nodded. "Okay, well, I kinda like it in over all." The dark Hylian continued, turned his back to Storm and leaned against the stallion.

The three Gerudos were totally shocked about how well Dark knew Storm. He talked to the stallion like the horse would've been normal human. The trio looked at each other in amazement before turning their gaze back to Dark. "So, is that actually possible for me too?" Naira eventually asked.

Dark had actually fallen to his thoughts and was bit of grinning. He was remembering the snowball fight with Link as well as the snowman creations. The question startled him slightly. "Uh... Yeah, I think it is." He eventually replied with slight nod. Naira nodded back and walked to the light sand colored mare.

While Naira tried to get into better basis with Sandstorm, Dark's stallion pawed ground three times and rose to his hind legs. The movement shocked Dark and he moved in time off of the way. All three Gerudo's turned to look at Storm bit startled. "Whoa, there! Calm down, Storm!" Dark half shouted.

The black stallion repeated his work and Dark stared at him in confusion. "Sorry but I'm not following." He replied. "Try bit slower." He asked and Storm repeated again his act. "Three and up? I really don't get it, Storm." Dark repeated.

Storm gave a short snorting sound before taking on a fast trot and straight towards Sandstorm. The mare neighed at the stallion and pawed the ground. "Oh shit..." Dark whispered and ran straight after Storm. "Storm, stop!" He shouted and came between the two horses.

Sandstorm rose to her hind legs while neighing loudly. Dark half shouted in shock when he realized to be right on the hoofs way. He tried to back off but stumbled to ground. Storm came right over Dark, his ears down and neighing madly. Sandstorm had equal stance and also neighing.

Dark crawled out of underneath Storm and started to drag the stallion away. Once far enough from the mare, Dark checked the black horse. "Thank goddesses, you didn't get hurt." He half whispered. Storm nodded and neighed in bit worry. "I'm fine, Storm. You don't have to worry 'bout me." Dark replied and hugged the stallion.

Naira had tried to drag Sandstorm off while the other two Gerudo's were too shocked about the situation. "I'm really sorry, Dark! Sandstorm's not too fond of new people." Naira said apolitically. "Yet, she has never done anything like this before." She continued. "Are you two alright?" Naira asked eventually once she had calmed down a bit.

Dark nodded. "Yeah, luckily." He replied. Suddenly Storm pawed the ground again three times and rose to his hind legs once again. Dark was first surprised but started then to grin. "I think I finally figure it out." He said and turned towards Naira. "Tell me if I'm wrong but I believe that Sandstorm didn't let you anywhere near her for the three first times." Dark stated while crossing his arms over his chest.

Naira stared at Dark quite shocked before slowly nodding. "That is true. How did you know?" She replied quietly. Dark's grin widened.

"Actually, quite simple." He replied and nodded towards Storm. "You saw what he did. Pawing meant times and getting to hind legs meant fight or, as in this case, no trust. On short it's telling that Sandstorm wasn't letting you close to her for three first times." Dark explained carefully.

Naira chuckled. "Horses talk to each other easily but to us, they need different ways to talk. We just gotta listen and see, huh?" She said smiling. Dark nodded and started to pet the black stallion.

The four of them spend the rest of the day at the arching grounds talking about both arching and horses. It was lot more comfortable topic for the dark Hylian than dancing or how to talk to other people, mainly to females. Dark was actually starting to calm down lot faster when Storm was around. The stallion gave him a topic to talk about and some courage too.

They returned back to inside once the evening was starting to fall. Rasha informed Dark that it would get cold at night time, so the dark Hylian gave up on staying with Storm and watch the stars. He wasn't eager to feel coldness for a while. Naira and Aztar left for their own places and Dark followed Rasha back to her room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

I**N CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED:** I know this comes late since there's under a week to Christmas, but I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!  
**So, in short:** Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.  
There is **no deadline** for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)  
**NOTE!** Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (can be found on my profile page) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 23

Link knew that he could get to Gerudo Fortress sooner or later at that day but unfortunately he got to be way too busy. The Christmas Fir tree was brought in and Link had to go get kids from each and every area to decorate it. That job took most of his day since he had to help the kids get to the castle as well as back home too. Not to mention about looking after them during the job of decorating the tree.

The kids were having fun and several of them had their parents along. Link looked after that no-one started a fight nor got hurt. He also helped the younger and shorter kids to reach higher into the tree. The most waited thing was the decision of who put the top star into the tree.

This little feature was usually done by drawing out a name from a hat. Each child had written their name into a small paper. Or some had help to get their name written but the main thing was that each and every child at there had equal luck on getting the chance to put the star up. There also was a small list where the previous winners were written so there wasn't a chance of same child having the chance more often than others.

Once the name was pulled out and read, Link helped the child to reach the top of the huge fir tree. Once the star was in its place, the lights were dimmed and the tree was lit. It always got the kids in awe. The Hero was smiling and happy for the children.

After the decoration of Christmas tree, the food was brought in. It usually consisted of pancakes, dessert cream, ice-cream, cakes and cookies. There was also bit of real food like sandwiches and such but those were usually left without notion. Sure, sandwiches with chocolate, strawberries and such were eaten fast. For drinks there mainly was milk, juice and sodas.

After the simple food Link helped the kids to get ready to leave. And once everyone was ready to get back home, the Hero of Hyrule took the lead and guided them back home. The road back home always felt bit shorter than the road to castle because of the excitement.

Once everyone was safely back home, Link returned to the castle. He helped to clean the ball room where the Christmas tree was. The kids always made lot of mess but they had that one day full of fun. This was traditional thing that the first king of Hyrule had started. It was to give something fun to all of the children of Hyrule. And Zelda was eager to follow it and Link actually liked to be with children and join in their fun.

It was thoroughly too late to go visit at Gerudo Fortress once everything was done. The leader of construction work came to inform Link about the bridge been fixed. Link nodded his thanks and glanced out of the window. It was snowing and the sky was dark with clouds. He sighed while realizing the time. _"I will visit there early in the morning."_ Link swore while heading back to his room.

Suddenly he remembered one thing which he still needed to do. Link changed his way and went to the butler of the castle. He needed to check that the needed rooms were ready. There would be several people who would stay over the night tomorrow because road back home would be too long.

Once he had checked that everything was perfectly ready for tomorrow's Ball, Link returned to his room. The room felt coldish and empty. The Hero of Hyrule sat down to his bed with a sad sigh. _"I just wish Dark would actually come to live in here."_ He thought and glanced outside through the window. There was a fast falling star that Link managed to see through a crack in the clouds. Closing his eyes, the Hero made the wish again while praying it would actually come true this time. After this he laid down on the bed, took the blanket up and fell asleep quite soon.

Dark woke up early at that day. He was actually feeling lot better than for a long while. The dark Hylian smiled when he noticed Rasha sleeping at the table once again.

Dark sat on the bed, stretched a bit and leaned against the wall behind him. He closed his eyes while thinking about the past few days he had spent at Gerudo Fortress. It had been freaky at first but now he liked it. The only sad thing was being away from Link and the Hero was the only one he did actually look up to.

The Gerudos were nice and fun but he felt bit embarrassed around them. They were, after all, females. And Dark was actually wishing to have bit of adventure with the Hero and learn more about the world. Sure, he liked about the warmer air and the arching ground at the back of the houses but he knew to be missing the winter too.

_"I can't stay here."_ Dark thought with a slight sigh. _"But where can I live then, huh? I don't know how to make a fire and there's way too much of people at the castle."_ He opened his eyes and stared at the floor while being deep in his thoughts. _"Link's offer _is_ intriguing but I don't think I could stay at there... And yet I want to go and try..."_

Dark sighed again and leaned back against the wall. "What am I supposed to do?" He asked quietly from no-one and got totally surprised when there came an answer.

"On about what?" Rasha asked. She had just a while ago woken up and thought Dark to have fallen asleep on a sitting position.

Dark shot his eyes open and leaned bit forward. "Don't freak me out like that!" He half shouted in shock. Rasha was first shocked but started to laugh then. It took a while from Dark to start to grin and eventually to laugh too.

"Sorry, that really wasn't my intention." Rasha replied smiling. Dark shook his head.

"Nah, it wasn't your fault. I just hadn't noticed that you woke up too." He replied while answering to the smile. Rasha nodded.

"So, what kind of problem you're having, Dark?" She asked interested.

Dark sighed and thought for a while. "Well, my first problem is actually the fact that I can't create a fire." He replied bit nervously. The female guard grinned.

"I know how to fix that." She said and stood up. "Follow me." Rasha said and started to guide her guest out of the house. They went to the arching ground but faced the shorter area of place. "Do you know Din's Fire?" She eventually asked.

"I doubt I do. I haven't used any of magic but I'm willing to learn." Dark replied. Rasha nodded and went to take close by wooden boxes to the shorter area. She placed them down not too far from each other.

"Okay, watch closely." Rasha said while concentrating. Dark nodded and watched bit awed how Rasha did Din's Fire. "Everyone has magic inside of them. It is just up to us whether or not we decide to use it." Rasha explained and nodded towards the boxes. "Your turn."

Dark was slightly startled but he nodded and tried to mimic Rasha's previous work. Yet, nothing happened. "Um... How did you create the fire, Rasha?" Dark eventually asked bit sheepishly.

Rasha grinned and came next to Dark. "Just call the fire out, aim and fire." She told carefully. "Like this." She continued, chose one of the crates and let the magic fly. Dark was awed but managed to nod.

Once Rasha moved off, Dark closed his eyes. He concentrated on finding the magic from inside of himself. There was a small warm tug and Dark took bit stronger notion to it. Soon the magic started to rise up and Dark grinned.

He opened his eyes and chose one of the remaining crates. _"I can do this."_ Dark thought while calling out Din's Fire. He sent the attack go but it missed the crate. "Shit." Dark whispered bit unhappy and disappointed.

Rasha laughed a bit. "It's okay. You just need bit of learning on aiming. The strike itself was great." She complimented. "Just try again."

Dark nodded, took once a deep breath and concentrated all over again. This time he hit the crate. The strike was equally powerful as was the first hit. "Just cool off with the strength of the strike, Dark, or you'll be burning whole house where you going to live at." Rasha warned while slightly laughing.

Dark nodded and concentrated all over again. The next hit was no smaller in strength than the two earlier ones. "Just keep on trying." Rasha encouraged him. Dark nodded and continued his practice.

The two of them spend most of the day at the training area. Dark worked with his magic and found a connection to Farore's Wind and Nayru's Love too. These two spells didn't get much of interest from Dark at the time since he concentrated mostly on Din's Fire.

They held a small meal break but returned then back to the practice. Dark started to get the hang of decreasing the strength when Aztar came running to them. "Rasha!" She called bit out of breath.

"What's wrong?" Rasha asked straight off while coming to her from the small fence she had been sitting at. Dark had turned around too.

"The leader wants your help, Rash." Aztar said once she got her breath in order again. "And she said it's important and that you should hurry." She continued.

Rasha sighed and looked apolitically at Dark. "I gotta go." She whispered quietly in a sad voice.

Dark nodded. "I hope to see you later on." He called while Rasha was already running away. The dark Hylian sighed a bit and turned then to Aztar. "You wouldn't know anything about magic, would you?" He asked bit sheepishly.

"What magic you're learning on?" Aztar asked carefully.

"Din's Fire." Dark replied. "I know the basics and all but currently I'm trying to decrease the strength so I could actually start a fire into a fireplace." He explained.

"I guess you're not exactly needing much of learning but bit of looking after, huh?" Aztar asked and Dark nodded while chuckling bit nervously. "Fine by me. Just continue and I'll keep eye on things so we won't burn the wrong things." She continued and went to sit on the fence where Rasha had just a while ago been at.

_"If I just get the hang of this, I could return back to Lake Hylia."_ Dark thought while practicing. _"At least then I won't freeze to death... Food's entirely another thing, though. Where the heck I'm going to get food, huh?"_ He continued and frowned a bit.

"So, you ever been to the Christmas Ball, Aztar?" Dark asked after a while without taking his concentration from his practice.

"Nope but I've heard a lot of it. Everyone in here wants to go but just the leader has the rights." She replied and sighed bit sadly. "Wish I could get to see it someday." Aztar whispered quietly with a dreamy voice.

Dark nodded and fell silent again. _"So, I'm not exactly getting much of help for knowing what the dance is like in reality."_ He thought bit sadly but decided to ask it out anyways from the Gerudo guard.

Aztar shrugged a bit. "All I know is from rumors and what others has told." She started but grinned then. "If you want to hear the rumors and such, I'll be happy to tell you." She continued and her grin widened when Dark nodded.

"Well, the place will be beautifully decorated. And there's going to be huge decorated Christmas Fir Tree at one of the corners. The Ball is held at the biggest dance room of the castle. And there's going to be lots of people at there." Aztar started and closed her eyes. "There's going to lots of food and dancing. At midnight there's going to be a firework show. It is each year getting even more amazing and I have no idea how they do it."

_"Lots of people. Yikes."_ Dark thought bit grimacing. _"I think I could do it with a small group but lots of people... How much is _lots of people_?"_ He wondered and frowned a bit. "How much in over all there is going to be?"

Aztar opened her eyes bit frowning. "Um, I'm not thoroughly sure but it is measured in thousands, I think." She replied. Dark gulped. Aztar giggled a bit. "You're really not too fond of having too many around you, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah, well..." Dark replied and chuckled nervously. Aztar shook her head with a grin on her face.

"You shouldn't worry so much. Most of people are nice. And even more you won't even get to meet than just briefly." Aztar said calmly. "As long as you're calm and collected, you'll be perfectly fine." She continued with a nod.

Dark nodded and thought about it for a while. "Yeah, you might be right." He replied. _"I just wonder if Link knows everyone in the castle by name?"_ The dark Hylian thought while bit frowning. _"And how much even is considered to be in the castle at work and how many of those actually live in there?"_

Dark sighed, shook his head and turned back to his practice. Aztar watched the dark Hylians practice and nodded once in a while when Dark managed to get the power of his magic reduced. _"This is so slow... But I gotta learn if I want to live, though."_ Dark thought bit frustrated. Eventually he sighed and went to sit next to Aztar. "I gotta say this practice is quite hard." He half mumbled while leaning slightly backwards.

Aztar chuckled a bit. "Yeah, for a first-timer it always is hard but you're doing great work with your practice." She replied smiling. Dark just shrugged.

"Maybe but not fast enough." He replied and stretched a bit.

"How so?" Aztar asked bit confused. Dark was slightly surprised and lowered his gaze to ground.

He sighed and smiled sadly. "Because I was thinking about actually spending the night at somewhere else." Dark whispered and sighed again. "Don't get me wrong. It's cool in here and all but... I... I don't know..." Dark continued and raised his bit sad gaze to Aztar.

The guard nodded and turned to look at the arching road. "Here is only one season whole time because of the desert but out at Hyrule field and around it... There's four seasons and I gotta admit that I once in a while sneak out of here to enjoy the true seasons." Aztar said with a slight smile.

_"Four seasons? So, the different times are actually called as _seasons_. How come Link never mentioned that?"_ Dark thought with slight frown but that turned soon into a small grin. _"At least I could get to know how they feel... I think current time is actually called as _winter_. But what about the rest of them?"_

"What's on your mind, Dark`" Aztar asked and startled the dark Hylian.

Dark chuckled bit nervously. "Not much." He replied with a shrug. _"At least I have learned to be normal around these three guards. The rest of the people on the other hand..."_ Dark thought with a small smile and took once a deep breath. "I probably should continue." He stated, stood up and walked back to his earlier place to face the crates.

"If you're leaving, where are you going to live at?" Aztar asked worriedly. Dark shrugged.

"I thought about Lake Hylia for start." He said while casting Din's Fire but cursed a bit when it had the same strength as the first time he cast it. Concentrating hard to the strength of the attack, Dark continued the conversation. "After winter, I'm not thoroughly sure, though."

Aztar nodded. "You can always come back here if you want." She replied.

Dark grinned. "Thanks, that means a lot to me." He replied and flashed an genuine happy smile to her. Aztar blushed a bit and nodded since she wasn't fully trusting her words. Suddenly Naira ran to there.

"Hey, guys!" She called happily. "The bridge is fixed!" Naira said while smiling widely. "Our beloved leader is able to get to the Ball! And so are you, Dark!" The female guard continued excited.

"Yes! That's great news!" Aztar shouted and jumped off of the fence. "I was bit worried whether or not she'd get to the Ball." She said with a sigh. "So, Dark. Are you going to the Ball?" She continued while turning to the dark Hylian.

Dark shrugged while turning back to his practice. "I'm not sure. Probably not but I gotta think it through." He replied and concentrated to his next Din's Fire. _"At least I might get to see Link... I really wish to talk with him again..."_ Dark thought and fired the magic. He grinned happily when the magic was lot lighter in strength than before. _"Well, at least I'd be able to live at Lake Hylia..."_

"Nice~" Naira said while watching Dark practice with the fire magic. "That was nearly weak enough to light a fire to a specific place." She complimented. Dark grinned.

"Thanks, that's exactly what I'm trying to learn." He replied and glanced at the Gerudo guard with a grin. Naira blushed bit and giggled slightly nervously. _"This is actually starting to work."_ Dark thought while his grin widened slightly. _"Link is right about getting happy while seeing others happy..."_ He thought but suddenly his smile vanished.

_"That's exactly the thing... Link's always been bit sad when I've declined from his request of living at the castle..."_ Dark thought and sighed. He didn't really think what he was doing when he cast the Din's Fire at the next crane. The wooden box lit in fire with a whoosh. It startled all three at the arching ground. "Shit! I didn't mean that to happen!" Dark shouted in panic.

"Wow..." The two female Gerudos whispered. "Just remind us not to get you angry..." Naira continued with slight nervousness in her voice.

"That's probably the strongest Din's Fire I've ever seen." Aztar said while staring at the flaming wooden box. "I don't think even Link could do something like that..." She continued and Naira just nodded.

Dark gulped. "And I made that just by accident..." He replied bit startled and scared at the power of the magic.

"You _really_ gotta control your element, Dark." Aztar said as calmly as she could. "That kind of power would burn any house in seconds." She continued in a quiet whisper.

Dark nodded. "I kinda thought about the same thing." He said while staring at the flames that were starting to die. "Luckily here isn't much to burn, though." Dark continued with slight nervous chuckle. Naira and Aztar just nodded.

Suddenly the power of his magic frightened him. _"SHIT! I'd better NEVER use this kind of magic with Link... With that kind of power... Oh, goddesses..."_ Dark thought in horror and took a step backwards from the scene in front of him. _"Never, never, never... I gotta keep myself from getting angry at Link... I doubt he could ever avoid that kind of attack... Oh, goddess, just keep Link safe from this kind of attacks! Don't ever let me strike at him with this kind of power!_ He continued while stumbling backwards to the ground.

"Dark!" Both Naira and Aztar shouted and rushed straight to the dark Hylian. "Are you alright?" Naira asked worriedly.

Dark blinked few times and shook his head. "Yeah... I'm okay." He replied and gave a lopsided smile. "I kinda freaked out by the strength of the magic..." Dark continued and took once a deep breath. "Sorry that I worried you two." He continued and stood back up.

"You sure, you're alright?" Aztar asked still worried. Dark chuckled and nodded.

"There's nothing to worry about." He replied smiling before frowning. "At least I know now my powers. I just gotta keep it under control." Dark continued and took once a deep breath to calm himself fully down.

_"And it's not just against Link... Hell, he'd kill me if I hurt someone with this kind of power... Well, actually it's not anymore just hurting, this shit would _kill_. I really gotta make sure I never use this kind of strength ever again... And even if Link didn't kill me for this, he'd sure as hell would never forgive me."_ Dark thought and shook his head again.

"Could you two make me one simple thing, please?" Dark asked while turning around to face the two Gerudos. The females nodded eagerly. The dark Hylian sighed. "Don't tell anyone about what happened in here. I don't want to freak anyone out by the strength of my magic." He said sadly.

Naira and Aztar looked at each other but eventually nodded to Dark. "You got Gerudo's word for it." They replied in unison. Dark nodded with slight smile.

"Thanks. That seriously means a lot." He said bit more happily and calming down. _"I never can tell Link about this... I think he'd freak out about it..."_ Dark thought bit sadly and glanced at the still smoldering ex-wooden box which he had burned down in a flash. _"Besides, even if I'd just demonstrate... And it would miss... Shit, it would cause way too much of damage and danger in over all... At least here the fire can't move to anywhere..."_

Dark practiced a bit longer so he got the control of smaller fire. After this he was ready to leave. While fetching his, or actually Link's, backpack, the two Gerudos gave him some needed things. He got a refill on food and bit of medical things with him. Also, they promised to tell his gratitude and good-byes to Rasha once she'd return from the leader's room.

Storm trotted slowly out of the Gerudo Fortress and through the new bridge. Once they go over the rocky area, the stallion took up slow gallop towards Lake Hylia. Dark did glance towards the castle and sighed sadly. _"I'm not ready, Link. I'm sorry."_ He thought and turned back to his road towards Lake Hylia.

Storm had no problems of jumping over the two fences. And this time Dark had been prepared and actually enjoyed the jump. The black stallion trotted to the scientist's house and Dark jumped off of Storm. He once again picked the lock to the house and let the stallion in before going in himself and closing the door behind him.

Dark took once a deep breath and concentrated right in front of the fire place. _"Let this work!"_ He begged before casting Din's Fire. It lit the cold and half frozen wood in the fireplace and Dark sighed in relief. _"Thank goddesses I managed."_ He thought with a slight smile.

Soon after he had lit the fire and eaten a bit, he took the blankets and pillow from the floor over himself. "Goodnight, Storm." He called to the stallion and the black horse neighed in response. It didn't take long before both of them had fallen asleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

I**N CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED:** I know this comes late since there's under a week to Christmas, but I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!  
**So, in short:** Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.  
There is **no deadline** for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)  
**NOTE!** Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (can be found on my profile page) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 24

Link woke up early at that day. He knew to be having a long day but he didn't care. The Hero went straight to the stables and took Epona out. He rode straight to Gerudo Fortress and only slightly slowed down at the icy rocky ground of the start of the road.

Link had no idea where he should go or actually what to ask. He just stopped Epona and walked straight in from the first door. The Hero knew it to be way too early but he didn't really care. The worry he had for Dark was stronger than the fear what he'd see.

Link walked straight to the first living room he found and knocked to the wooden table. The female Gerudo frowned a bit while getting up and yawning. "What?" She asked grumpily and opened her eyes. "Oh my! Link!" She shouted in shock. "I'm sorry!"

Link just shook his head. "No, I'm the one who should say sorry." He replied bit apolitically. "I'm just here to ask one simple question." The Hero continued. The Gerudo guard nodded to show that she was listening. Link too once a deep breath before asking what had been worrying him for the past days. "Have you seen a guy that looks like me but has darker skin and hair?"

"Are you talking about Dark?" The Gerudo asked bit confused. Link's face lit up.

"Has he been here?!" He straight off asked. The Gerudo nodded and was bit startled at Link's actions. "Yes!" Link half shouted. "Is he alright? Where is he currently?!" He straight off asked excited.

It took a while from the guard to answer while she calmed down. "Well... He is alright but unfortunately he left yesterday evening." She replied bit sadly. "I don't know where he left to but he is having some things to think through." The Gerudo continued quietly.

Link sighed in disappointment. "Darn it. I already thought to have found him." He whispered quietly. "Well, thank you for your help. I guess I just gotta search for him." The Hero continued and turned around. He walked slowly to Epona and got up to her back. Sighing he left to rode out of Gerudo Fortress and over the slightly swinging bridge.

Epona had a slow trot and she was going towards the castle when Link stopped her. _"Maybe I could go and check Lake Hylia. That's the place he's mainly at..."_ He thought and was just going to turn the mare around when he heard another horse coming towards. _"Dark?"_ Link hoped and waited for the rider to get to him.

"Ah, young Knight Link. It is nice to see that you have come to check the area's safety." The knight in white armor said. He was riding a dark brown stallion. After him was coming two nearly black mares dragging a cart after them.

Link flinched inside. _"Damn!"_ He thought but brought out a smile. "Good morning, Knight Ryan." The Hero said with a nod.

"Shall we have your guidance to the castle, young Knight?" Ryan asked while riding next to Link. The Hero nodded and turned Epona around. "The snow has once again covered the tracks to the castle." The knight continued.

_"Right. Like it wouldn't do that each and every year."_ Link thought bit grimly. He couldn't turn the request down because he was going to welcome everyone to the Ball with princess Zelda. They rode in silence for a while. "May I inquire what troubles you, young Knight?" Ryan asked carefully.

Link tried his best to not to show how much this guy was getting on his nerves. "I was just going to see a friend of mine." He replied casually but continued straight off: "Knight Ryan."

The knight nodded. "I apologize for taking your time, young Knight." He said bit sadly. Link shook his head.

"It is no problem, Knight Ryan. He isn't exactly waiting for me." The Hero replied with slight fake happiness in his voice. _"Damn him. Couldn't he have come here few hours later?"_ Link thought but fought not to show his disappointment. The knight nodded and the rest of the ride was done in silence.

Link helped the real guests out of the cart. The two were royal family of another kingdom far away from Hyrule. The Hero showed the way to their guestroom before having a chance to leave from their presences. Disappointed about the change in his plans, Link took straight off to Zelda to inform about the first guests in the castle.

Zelda was equally surprised to hear that the first guests had already come. She handled her preparations to end as quickly as she could before going to join Link to wait for the rest of the guests.

The next guests came inside an hour from the first ones. After that there started to come more of them. Link did his best to be happy and tried to enjoy his time welcoming the knights, queens, kings, princesses and princes to the Christmas Ball.

Zelda had golden night gown with red royal crest on the front. She had tiara with ruby in middle and golden necklace where a mark of Triforce was hanging from. Link on the other hand had golden knight's armor with red Triforce mark in middle. He didn't have his helmet on, though.

It took hours to welcome everyone in and show each their own respective rooms. After an hour of having shown the last guest their room, they were shown the way to the main Ball room. At there it again took several hours since each and everyone was called by the highest knight in Hyrule. Link had declined from the job long ago since he rather stayed by Zelda than call each and everyone in.

After the call had been done, the guests scattered around the huge room. Link and Zelda left to walk around the guests and talk with them. Soon there had been formed different sized groups while waiting for the dance to start. Few had already started to fetch the small snacks from long table next to the back wall and the one straight left from the door.

While Link was hosting the Ball with Zelda, Dark was lying on the floor of the scientist's house. He had two thick blankets underneath him and soft billow right under his head. The dark Hylian stared at the ceiling with a sad look on his face. _"Christmas... Link has always looked forward to this time of the year..."_ He thought and sighed.

He turned to his side and stared at the black stallion. "You think I'm doing the right thing by staying here?" Dark asked. Storm neighed and shook his head. The dark Hylian narrowed his eyes and sighed. _"Damn it."_ He thought while rolling back to his back and continued staring to the roof. "It's boring in here, ain't it?" He asked and glanced at the horse who neighed and nodded.

Dark chuckled a bit and shook his head. _"Wish Link would've been here..."_ He thought and eventually sat up and changed his view from the ceiling into the fireplace. The dark Hylian frowned when he noticed that the fire was slowly dying. Sighing he stood up and went to put few new branches into the fire.

Dark glanced out from the close by window and sighed. The day was starting to turn into evening. _"What the heck I'm doing here?"_ He thought bit angrily. _"Link has always brought me a present of some sort but I have never actually had anything for him. All I have had brought to him was small and not even worth of giving. And I went through that freaking hell for what? Just to turn my back to his offer once again?"_ The anger started to rise in the dark Hylian. But with the anger came sorrow and soon Dark pulled his knees close to his chest, put his arms around his knees and hid his face while crying.

After a while he glanced at the dimming evening sky. _"There's still some time..."_ He thought and smiled slightly. "Come on, Storm. Time we left Lake Hylia." Dark said and stood up. He doused the fire with ice from the back of the room. After that he gathered all of the stuff he had had with him before walking out of the room.

Dark locked the room behind himself and got up to Storm. "Let's head to the castle, Strom." He said grinning and the black stallion neighed happily while nodding before taking off with fast gallop.

The dark Hylian slowed Storm down before coming to the market place. He was bit worried about crashing with too many people but he also tried his best to show more courage than what he was feeling. While looking around the place, he noticed young child playing at fence of higher ledge. _"That doesn't look too safe."_ Dark thought and stopped Storm.

Suddenly the kid started to slip on the icy railing. _"Oh crap!"_ The dark Hylian thought, jumped off of Storm and ran straight towards the child. The kid screamed when he finally fell from the railing. Dark ran as fast as he could and dove towards the falling child.

The dark Hylian managed to catch the kid from mid-air while turning to his back. He held tightly to the child while protecting the kid with his own body. Dark cried out of slight pain when his back hit the frozen pavement. As fast as he could, the dark Hylian sat up. "You okay?" He asked from the scared kid.

The child nodded still bit freaked out about the situation. Suddenly an older woman came to there. "Hey! Leave my kid alone!" She screamed while running towards Dark with a broom.

Dark was startled and he rose fast to his feet. "Mom! No!" The kid shouted and came in front of Dark. The woman stopped and stared at her child. "This mister saved my life!" The kid continued and turned towards Dark with happy and genuine smile. "Thanks, mister!" He shouted eagerly.

Dark chuckled bit nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Nah, it's okay. Glad I happened to be close." He replied without knowing exactly what he was supposed to say. The woman calmed down a bit and hugged the boy in front of her. "Um... I probably should just go..." Dark whispered while starting to turn around.

"Wait!" The woman called after him. Dark turned around bit surprised. "What's your name?" She asked while still holding on to the child.

"I'm Dark." The dark Hylian replied with slight smile. The woman nodded and tried to hide her confusion.

"Thank you for saving my child, Dark." She said with a genuine smile and small curtsey. Dark was slightly embarrassed.

"Uh... It really was no big deal. Anyone would've done it." He replied slightly nervously. The woman nodded and smiled.

"Maybe so but you were the one around when needed." She said smiling. "You can be sure that your good deed will be known." The woman continued and winked once before starting to guide her child inside.

Dark stood there for a while with slight smile coming to his face. _"Maybe this is a start for better..."_ He thought while going back to Storm. "Come on, we're going to the castle." The dark Hylian said happily.

Dark was slightly surprised when he came to a closed gate. "Indentify yourself." The guard said bit gruffly.

"I'm Dark, friend of Link's." The dark Hylian said and hoped it would get him in but the guard shook his head.

"I'm sorry but haven't heard of you." He said and crossed his arms. "Unless you have invitation to the Ball or proof to your words, I cannot let you in." The guard stated. Dark sighed but dug out the piece of paper he had gotten from princess Zelda. He gave it to the guard.

The guard stared at the paper for a long while before giving it back. "You are welcome to the Castle of Hyrule, Dark." He said and opened the door. Dark thanked the guard and continued into the country yard of the castle.

_"I kinda hoped not have needed that piece of paper..."_ Dark thought while guiding Storm to the stables. He was lucky that the place was well shown to. "Hey, Epona." The dark Hylian said to the reddish mare while bringing Storm to her stable. Epona neighed and nodded while moving bit to give more room for the black stallion.

Dark was just going to leave the stable when he remembered something. Grinning he returned to horses and dug out two apples from the backpack. "Merry Christmas, you two. "He whispered quietly while giving the treat to the horses before leaving the place. The dark Hylian left the backpack close to the horses since he wasn't fully sure where to take it.

Once he closed the door behind himself, Dark took once a deep breath to calm himself. _"Okay, you can do this... Just get to the Ball... Dance... Whatever... And go to talk to Link... Oh, goddesses, I'm probably going to make a total fool of myself..."_ Dark thought, gulped once and breathed slowly in and let it out equally slowly before leaving to search the Ball room.

Dark was nervous, scared and totally lost. He had no idea where he was supposed to go and the hallways were strangely quiet and scarce of people. _"Where the heck I'm going?"_ He thought while once again taking the wrong turn.

After about an hour of searching, he eventually starting to hear talking. _"Okay, here it starts... Just show that you know where you're going... Damn, easier said than done."_ Dark thought while walking towards the sounds. Soon there came huge double-doors right in front of him. The talking came right from inside. Dark gulped once, breathed once deep and walked in.

The huge room was filled with people. _"Damn! I'm seriously not fit into here!"_ Dark thought while looking at the amazing dresses and armors others were having. He himself was wearing one of Link's red tunics and feeling totally out of place. _"Okay, just find Link and be out of here!"_ Dark thought, tried to look damn more courageous than what he felt and started to walk deeper into the room.

People were staring at him and started to mumble to others about him. The main question Dark heard was: "Who the heck is that?". And another equally used question was: "What in god's name is a guy like him doing in here?". Dark just ignored them as well as he could and searched for Link.

Suddenly someone walked right behind him. "Check the balcony." Came a voice of a female. Dark frowned a bit and turned around but the one who had talked had vanished already into the mass of people. Shrugging it off, Dark headed to the other side of the room towards the balcony.

Dark smiled when he saw Link alone at the balcony. _"Thank the goddesses for the help they send."_ He thought and fastened slightly his steps. The closer he got, the wider his smile came.

Link was having his back to the Ball room and staring at the snowy landscape in front of him. He freaked out badly when someone came behind him, brought their hands over his eyes and whispered: "Merry Christmas, Link." The Hero turned around in a flash and his shock and surprise turned into pure happiness when he saw Dark right in front of him.

"Dark!" Link shouted eagerly and without even thinking, he hugged the darker Hylian. "You really don't know how happy I am to see you!" He half shouted while holding on to Dark.

Dark answered to the hug straight off and chuckled a bit. "I think I have a good guess of that." He replied grinning. Link pulled off and he was having wide smile on his face. Dark's smile matched it perfectly.

"I know this isn't much but... Well..." Dark started bit nervously but suddenly Link hugged him all over again.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Dark." He whispered happily. Dark chuckled and returned the hug happily.

"Thanks." The dark Hylian whispered and closed his eyes. _"I gotta tell him the reason I came here..."_ Dark thought while they pulled off. He was just going to open his mouth when Zelda came over.

"Link, there is someone you really need to talk to." She said straight off. Link grimaced a bit.

"Zelda! Can't you see that I'm just—" Link started but the princess stopped him straight off.

"Now, Link." She said as sternly as she could. Link grit his teeth and tried to calm down.

"Don't go anywhere, Dark. I'll be right back." He said to the dark Hylian, gave a fast furious look to Zelda and left. Dark was sad to see Link leave but also scared to be left with Zelda.

The princess waited for a while before taking a grip of Dark's arm and pulling him with her towards a hidden passageway. "Come." She commanded and the dark Hylian didn't really have a word to say against it.

_"I'm sorry, Link."_ He thought sadly while following the princess through the secret way to a normal hallway. She guided the dark Hylian to one empty and rarely used room. Zelda pulled Dark in and nodded to a knight's armor in middle of the room.

"Change clothes as fast as you can. We need to get back to the room before anyone notices that we are missing." She stated as firmly as she could and left the room. Zelda stayed outside of the room and waited for the dark Hylian.

_"The hell?"_ Dark thought, glanced once at the door and then back to the armor. It looked a lot like Link's but was darker in color. Suddenly he started to grin and was fast to start to change his clothes.

Once Dark came out with the armor on, Zelda nodded. "Good. Now, come on!" She stated and started to guide Dark back to the ball. She took a bit different road and nodded to the end of the hallway. "Go through there and from first turn to left. The Ball room is at the end of that hallway. You'd better get in from the right way since I'm supposed to be there already. Now get going!" The princess explained and gave a slight push to the dark Hylian.

"Thank you, princess." Dark said genuinely and Zelda just nodded before going to another hidden passageway. The dark Hylian turned towards the road he was given and walked back to the doors of the Ball room. _"Now I'm fit into the dance."_ He thought bit grinning. _"I just wonder what Link will think about this."_

The dark Hylian walked with a smile into the room. _"Just be calm and collected and everything will go perfectly."_ He thought while starting to search for Link once again but this time with more confidence.

People still looked at him but now it was mainly about his clothes. The color was darker gold and darker red but the crest of Hylian royalty was still clear to see. Now he wasn't anymore just unknown guy, now he actually had a meaning in there.

After a short walk towards the middle of the room, Dark found Link and the Hero of Hyrule had the luck of turning around to see the dark Hylian at the same time. Link grinned widely and Dark smiled while nodding. The Hero started to walk straight towards him.

"Nice clothes." Link said straight off. Dark chuckled a bit.

"You can thank Zelda for these." The dark Hylian replied smiling. Link nodded and guided Dark bit out of the main group of the guests.

"Just enjoy your time. The dance will start soon which means that unfortunately I won't be much around you." Link started bit sadly. "If you'd be so kind that to you'd stay long enough, we could talk once everyone leaves." The Hero continued bit hopefully.

Dark grinned. "You don't have to worry a thing. I'm staying since I have a lot to say to you too." He said and turned towards the guests. "So..." The dark Hylian started but wasn't fully sure what to say.

Link's smile came back and turned soon into a grin. "Don't worry. I'll handle things." He said with a wink and looked around. "I just need to give a word or few to right people..." The Hero continued and searched for a group of women. Soon his grin widened. "Wait here until the first dance is over." Link stated, nodded to Dark and left to find Zelda.

Dark was still smiling even though it hurt a bit to see Link leave him alone. _"You'll be okay. It will be alright..."_ He thought while trying to gather his breaking courage back up. Soon people started to move away from the middle of the room and music started to play.

Dark frowned slightly and moved towards the middle of the room. He stayed in the crowd but found a place to see the middle of the room. Right in the middle was standing Link and Zelda. Dark started to grin when he realized that they were going to start the dance. Since no-one else was taking the initiative, Dark realized that Link and Zelda were to have the very first dance before anyone else was to join. _"Damn, he's good. I doubt I can match that..."_ Dark thought bit jealously while watching Link lead the dance.

Once in a while their gazes met and Link gave a fast nod to him and a smile. Dark returned the gesture and tried to learn as much as he could while watching Link dance. Soon it was over and Dark returned slightly back to his earlier place but he still kept eye on the Hero.

Link headed towards Dark but stopped by at a group of ladies. He exchanged few words and the ladies giggled slightly. Link nodded few times towards Dark and the ladies nodded eagerly. After a while the Hero left the group and continued his way towards Dark.

Dark frowned slightly. He was bit afraid about what Link would've said about him. _"It can't be anything bad... I think... I hope..."_ He thought but didn't dare to ask about it. Link was grinning when he came to Dark.

"Your turn on the dance floor will be real soon." The Hero said for the first line when he came back to Dark's side. The darker Hylian just nodded but was bit nervous about Link's words. "Don't worry. You'll be perfectly fine. Besides, you learn already by just watching." Link tried to reassure him.

_"Just by watching? Oh, if you just knew..."_ Dark thought slightly grinning but nodded to Link's words. "Um... Link?" He started after a short quiet while. The Hero turned towards the darker Hylian. "There is something I need to tell you..." Dark started but suddenly the next song started and one lady was coming towards them.

"We'll talk later, Dark. Have fun!" Link said bit grinning and left the place. He nodded to the lady and walked right past her to find Zelda. Dark was slightly fearful but hid the feeling while smiling widely at the approaching lady.

The lady did a small curtsey and asked: "Could I have this dance?" Dark smiled, nodded and bowed.

"As you wish, my lady." He replied with a wide smile. The lady blushed slightly and Dark took the lead by offering his hand to her. The lady accepted and the dark Hylian started to guide her to the dancing area.

The next song started quite soon and quite many took the rights to dance. The area lucky wasn't too crowded but Dark did his best to actually just concentrate to his dance partner and not what was going around. The lady giggled a bit and was smiling widely. "You are better than what I thought." She said smiling.

"Why, thank you, my lady. Your words are truly kind. Though, I have to say that I am nothing compared to your skills." Dark replied with slight grin. The lady blushed slightly and giggled.

"You are so kind." She answered. Dark's grin widened slightly.

"Just stating the truth, my lady." He replied. He couldn't ignore the happy feeling right inside him while he watched the lady giggle and blush. _"This is actually fun. Well, except for the strange talking style..."_ Dark thought happily.

The song ended and Dark guided his companion out of the dance floor. "I hope to get another dance with you later on, my lady." He said and bowed to her.

The lady giggled once again and did slight curtsey. "Likewise." She replied while going to find her friends. Dark watched her leave before walking out of the crowd to slightly easier area.

Link had followed Dark as much as he could while dancing with Zelda. He was fully happy to see Dark enjoying his time and even getting the lady to blush and giggle. _"I really gotta find out where he learned to talk to ladies like that..."_ The Hero thought, bowed to Zelda and excused himself. He had kept eye on Dark whole time so he knew where to walk.

"You learn fast, Dark." Link stated straight off when he got close enough. Dark turned around fast with a smile on his face.

"I got a good teacher." He replied grinning. _"Though, I _do_ wish it would've been you."_ Dark thought but kept it for himself.

"Good to know. So, you enjoying your time?" The Hero continued happily. Dark nodded without any hesitation. "That's great." Link answered smiling widely. "So... You gonna stay around until everyone has left? I doubt we get a chance to talk before that." He continued bit sadly.

Dark's grin didn't fade even one bit. "Yeah, thought to stay until we get to talk a bit." He replied with a nod. Link's smile came right back with those words.

"Cool!" He stated and turned towards the food tables. "I think you might want to eat a bit. Come on." Link said and started to guide Dark towards the food tables.

"Sounds like a good idea. Last time I ate was hours ago." He replied with a slight chuckle. Link nodded and glanced at the darker Hylian.

"Just take what you want and as much as you want." The Hero said while giving a plate to Dark. The darker Hylian nodded and followed Link from one end of the table to other end. There was so much of food that he had never seen before nor did he know what they actually were. The only problem was that he didn't have the courage to ask about the food from Link. He just followed Link's example and mainly mimicked him on the parts he had no idea what the food was.

Once they had filled their plates, Link took Dark to more quieter area to eat in peace. They leaned against the wall while starting to eat. The dark Hylian watched other people and Link glanced once in a while at Dark but mainly he did keep eye on the ongoing Ball. He was there mainly to keep order up so he wasn't going to fail on that mission. Suddenly his gaze darkened.

"Wait here, Dark. I'll be right back." Link said, put the plate down next to Dark and left into the crowd. Dark was startled and he followed Link's leave with his gaze. The Hero walked straight to a group of knights. The dark Hylian didn't hear what they were talking but he could come up to the conclusion that it really wasn't anything good just by Link's expression.

_"Shit. Is that the guy Rasha, Naira and Aztar warned me about?"_ Dark thought bit grimly. _"If he's going to say even one wrong word, I'll—"_ He continued but his thoughts were cut when someone started to talk.

"Excuse me, but could I sit next to you?" The question was bit hesitant and shy. Dark blinked few times and raised his gaze to the lady right next to him. The dark Hylian had sat down a while ago to keep better eye on Link's plate of food and to rest his legs a bit.

Dark was fast to rise to his feet. "My lady, the floor is not suitable for such a beautiful woman like yourself. Please, let me get you a chair." He stated as fast as he could. The lady chuckled a bit and shook her head.

"No need. I actually came to ask if you would dance with me." She replied smiling. Dark nodded to her.

"I would dance with you whenever you like to, my lady, but I..." Dark started but was at loss of words. He didn't know how to tell to her that he actually wanted to eat first and dance after that. The young woman giggled a bit.

"Forgive me. Of course you can eat first. I hope you will come to find me once you're ready." She said smiling. Dark nodded eagerly.

"I shall, my beautiful lady. The next dance shall be yours." The dark Hylian replied and gave a bow. The lady nodded and did a small curtsey. After that she left Dark and joined a group of women.

Link came back a while after the lady had left. "I really can't understand that idiot." He muttered while sitting down and leaning his back to the wall. Dark followed him and sat down too.

"Who is he, actually?" Dark asked and nodded towards the guy they were talking about. The look on Link's face darkened.

"Just ignore the guy. Don't do anything to gain his notion. Leave him thoroughly out of your mind, Dark." Link half hissed and startled the darker Hylian. Then the Hero sighed and took once a deep breath. "Sorry..." He whispered and turned apolitically towards Dark. "I didn't mean to be so hard. That guy just gets on my nerves and I really don't want you to get his notion on yourself. He's worse than any monster that I've fought with." Link continued and tried to calm down.

"I get it." Dark replied with a nod and bit of sad smile. "But if he _does_ come to talk to me, I can't turn my back to him." He continued and kept his expression on order. _"Oh, how I _wish_ he'll come to talk to me. I'll outtalk him thoroughly."_ The dark Hylian thought and tried his best to come up with good words against the guy.

Suddenly within the next song's start, Dark gulped the rest of his food down. "I'll see you around, Link. I kinda promised to take this one lady for a dance." He said, gave a wink and grin to Link before leaving towards the group of women he had seen the lady go to.

Link was bit startled but he soon grinned. _"Glad he's having fun."_ He thought, ate the rest of his food and took the two plates away before going to find Zelda. _"Better still keep eye on him... Just in case."_ The Hero continued his thoughts with a happy smile on his face.

Dark walked as confidently as he could to the group of ladies. He had luckily put on notion the woman's dress and found the lady he was searching for quite quickly. "Excuse me, my beautiful lady, but I recall promising this dance for you." The dark Hylian said and bowed deep.

The group of ladies were bit startled and slightly giggled at Dark's antics. The lady in question smiled widely and nodded. "You really are a gentleman." She said and let Dark lead her to the dance floor.

"I do my best, my lady." Dark replied smiling. The woman giggled and nodded while enjoying her time on the dance floor. The dark Hylian glanced once at Link whom he had noticed to keep eye on him nearly whole time before turning his full attention back to the lady with him.

"Hey, freak!" Someone suddenly called through the crowd. Few stopped dancing and looked around as a knight in dark blue armor came towards Dark. The dark Hylian ignored the guy fully and tried his best to keep the dance going but he couldn't ignore the worried look on his dance partner.

"Is something wrong, my lady?" Dark asked worriedly while the woman stopped dancing. Suddenly someone took a strong grip on Dark's shoulder and turned him around.

"Are you deaf or something?" The guy asked with a smirk on his face. Dark was slightly startled but he kept his cool and turned his back to the guy for a while.

"Excuse me, my lady, but I need to deal with this cruel interruption." The dark Hylian said to the woman and turned back to face the knight. "I'm really sorry but I doubt there would be anyone by the name of _freak_. Besides, that is really a cruel word." He stated straight off. "And my name, if you were so cruelly inquiring it, is Dark."

The knight narrowed his eyes in anger but his lips curved up with even more sinister smirk. "Who in their right mind would give such a stupid name?" He questioned but was slightly startled at Dark's reaction.

"My, my... You really do not understand what unique name means." Dark started and shook his head. "I doubt anyone would be having same name as I do. And I do care about my own name. So, I doubt I caught your name." He continued carefully while keeping straight control on his expression.

"The name's Argan." The knight stated with a nod. Dark nodded back.

"Well, it is nice to meet you, knight Argan." He replied politely. Argan's eyes narrowed once again while he thought for his next words.

Link watched in slight horror at the interaction. He did wonder, though, about Dark's ability to keep his cool so well. _"Shit, if that arrogant knight decides to do even one wrong move, I have to step between..."_ The Hero thought in slight fear which way too soon became real.

"I challenge you into a swordfight right here and now." Argan stated as loudly as he could. Dark didn't show it but the challenge startled him slightly. Link on the other hand excused himself from princess Zelda's side and went straight towards Dark and Argan.

"Knight Argan!" Link called slightly angrier than what he had meant to. Both Argan and Dark turned to look at Link.

_"Shit."_ Dark thought but deep inside he was grinning. _"You just had to bring me a chance to save your honor, huh?"_ The dark Hylian continued and waited how things would turn out.

"And you just have to come to save everyone or what, _Link_." Argan said and half spat the name. His smirk widened when he noticed that it really hit a nerve in the Hero. Dark noticed it too and took few steps forward between Link and Argan.

"Excuse me, Knight Link, but could you let me handle this?" Dark asked and looked straight into Link's eyes. _"Please, let me outtalk him! Please!"_ The dark Hylian thought and seemingly his words were seen through his eyes since Link first looked bit startled but then sighed and nodded.

"As you wish, Knight Dark. But if things do go too far, I do have to step in." Link stated and backed off. _"I hope you know what you're doing, Dark."_ He thought bit in panic.

Dark nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Knight Link. You will not regret your decision." He replied and turned back to Argan. "And knight Argan, I do accept your challenge but not here and not now." The dark Hylian started.

"Oh, are you so scared that you need time to gather your courage to fight?" Argan asked smirking while crossing his arms over his chest.

Dark chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing like that, knight Argan." He started and raised his gaze to meet Argan's. "I only want everyone to have a nice and enjoyable evening at Christmas Ball. And unfortunately I am to leave for another quest straight from tomorrow. _But_ I am to return after two months."

Dark kept a short pause before he continued. "If you do not change your mind, knight Argan, then we shall fight here after two months. No more, no less. Exactly two months from this day and I will be waiting for you. Then we shall know whether or not you'll hold your sword as well as your words."

"You can count on me to be here." Argan said and shook his head. "I just don't understand how a freak like you could make it into a _knight_." He continued with a smirk. Dark chuckled.

"You shall find out after two months, knight Argan." The dark Hylian replied. "Now, if you do not mind, knight Argan, I really would love to fulfill my promise to this beautiful lady here and dance with her." He continued.

Argan was about to say something but Dark was bit faster. "May I warn you, knight Argan. If you say more arrogant words of yours, you are not disgracing me but yourself. You are already going to be talked for long while after this day. _But_ if you insist on disgracing yourself even more, then please, do not let me interrupt you."

It was then that the knight looked around and realized that everyone was following the interaction of his and Dark's. The women were whispering to each other in hushed tone and looking bit startled and slightly excited about the situation. Even knights were watching but mainly with disgraced look on their face and slightly shaking their head.

"This isn't over." Argan hissed and turned his back to Dark. After that he walked out of the Ball room and left. Dark watched him leave the room before turning back to the lady.

"Forgive me for such a cruel interruption." The dark Hylian said and bowed to the lady. The woman was slightly startled but giggled then.

"It was not your fault, Knight Dark. There is no reason for you to apologize." She replied smiling.

"Thank you, my lady." Dark replied and turned then straight to Link. "Knight Link, forgive me if I disgraced you. That was not my meaning." He said and bowed as low as he could.

Link was thoroughly surprised and chuckled bit nervously. "Not at all, Knight Dark. You handled the situation very well and you shall have my humblest thanks for outtalking him." The Hero replied once Dark had stood up straight again. This time Link gave a slight bow as he talked.

"If you do not mind me asking for this, Knight Link, but for everyone's happiness, I think the music would be nice be continued." Dark replied with a smile on his face. Link nodded with a slight grin and turned to the orchestra at the end of the room.

"Music, please!" The Hero called while raising his hand into air and snapping his fingers. The song continued quite soon and Link turned back towards Dark.

"Thank you, Knight Link." Dark said and bowed once again.

"Not at all, Knight Dark. Thank _you_ for saving this evening." Link replied bowed and continued then his words. "Have a wonderful evening. Both of you." With his last sentence he nodded to both Dark and the lady before turning to walk back to Zelda to continue the dance.

Dark turned back to the lady next to him and smiled. "Shall we continue the dance?" He asked and the lady nodded eagerly. "To make it up to you, my beautiful lady, I shall dance with you the next song too, if you please." The dark Hylian said.

"Thank you. That is very kind of you." She replied smiling.

Dark nodded. "It is only the least I can do, my lady." He said and his smile bit widened when the lady giggled and nodded.

Link watched proudly at Dark's actions. "He really knows how to act." Zelda whispered in slight awe. Link only nodded since he was actually eager to find out the dark Hylian's secret.

The rest of the dance went without more incidents. Dark was just heading to calm down for a bit when someone called to him: "Knight in dark Hylian armor." Dark was bit startled and he turned around. The knight in front of him had white armor and he bowed in front of him. "May I inquire your name, dark Hylian knight?" He asked.

"Of course. My name is Dark." Dark replied and bowed too. The knight nodded.

"I am knight Ryan." The knight replied. "And I came to thank you for salvaging the Christmas Ball. You truly handled that _incident_ well." He said calmly.

"It was nothing, Knight Ryan. I simply answered to his questions." Dark replied carefully. Ryan laughed a bit.

"You did more than just answer to his questions, Knight Dark. You showed him his place." He replied. "And for that, I truly thank you, Knight Dark." Ryan continued and bowed again.

"I doubt I did anything that anyone else could've handled, Knight Ryan." Dark replied with slight shrug. He was bit startled when Ryan laughed once again.

"You truly are modest. And a true gentleman. I hope to see you again, Knight Dark." Ryan replied and continued. "And if you excuse me, I do have my princess to take for a dance." Dark nodded and watched the white knight leave the place towards one of the ladies.

Link came to him quite soon after that. "So, you had the chance to meet Ryan, huh?" He asked with a smile. Dark just nodded. "He's a good guy but bit too official." The Hero continued with slight shrug.

After that the duo managed only to exchange only few words since the women were eager and even nearly fighting with each other while going to fetch Dark for dance. The dark Hylian did all he could to make the evening worthy for the ladies.

It was hour and half before midnight when the music ended and Zelda took out a place on the podium of the orchestra. "My beloved guests!" She called first to get everyone's notion. "It is hour and half to the fireworks. Please, it is time to return to your rooms and change clothes. It is very cold outside. And we will meet at the main hall." The princess explained and left then to find Link.

The doors were opened and people started to leave the ball room. When Zelda had started to talk, Link went to find Dark. He really wanted to make sure that the dark Hylian wasn't going to leave the castle before they could talk. And Dark's earlier words had shocked him. _"I really hope he isn't leaving straight off tomorrow... I can't stop him if he does, but..."_ Link thought bit sadly.

The Hero and the dark Hylian stood at the side of the room watching the crowd leave the room. They didn't really speak but they kept on nodding to anyone who looked towards them. Once the room was empty, the duo left the room too. Zelda had noticed that Link was with Dark, so she didn't want to go and bother them.

"Come on. Time to change clothes." Link said and started to guide the dark Hylian into the Hero's room. The walk was quiet and Link unlocked his room's door once they got that far. After closing the door behind them, Link went straight to the cabin. "I know you think we actually have hour and half time but that's not the case." Link stated straight off.

"How's so?" Dark asked while sitting on Link's bed. The Hero chuckled.

"Because people tend to change clothes fast so they can meet at the main hall to talk. The fireworks are the last thing for today. After that most leave the castle and those who have long way home, stay the night." Link explained and pulled out two red tunics. He threw them to Dark. "Here, it's cold outside." The Hero stated while starting to search two tunics for himself too.

Dark was bit startled but he started to take the knight armor off and change into the tunics. Link chose one green and one red one for himself. The green tunic went underneath the red because he really did want to stay warm. Once they had changed clothes, Link started to guide Dark into the main hall.

"And there is another reason too." Link whispered. "I don't want to get reprimanded by princess Zelda about being in late or not showing to there at all." He continued with slight smile. Dark just nodded and tried to gather his courage back.

People had already started to gather into the main hall. Link and Dark stayed close to the wall and watched the crowd. They didn't really talk since both were fallen into their own thoughts. Close to midnight everyone started to walk out of the room by following princess Zelda. Link and Dark held the back to see that everyone came out and no-one was left behind.

Right at midnight once everyone was out on the yard, the fireworks flew into air. When the first one blew open, Dark was startled but also excited. "Beautiful, aren't they?" A lady right next to Dark asked.

"They sure are, my lady, but not as beautiful as you." He replied with slight grin. The woman giggled and Dark's smile widened a bit. Zelda had found Link and pulled him bit off but still made sure that the two Hylians did see each other if they looked around.

"They make each year even more wonderful firework than before." The woman continued and glanced at Dark. "This really excites you, doesn't it?" She continued with slight grin.

Dark chuckle bit nervously. "Yes, it does, my lady. But only because I have been gone for so long and seeing this for first time in years." He replied casually. The lady nodded.

"I see. Well, I hope you truly enjoy of this then." She continued and turned her gaze back to air. Dark just nodded since he didn't have words to reply.

Once the last firework had faded, everyone clapped their hands in delight. It had been more colorful than at last year as well as bit more showy. "You never know what they have for next year but each year is full of surprises." The lady stated while heading back inside. Dark once again nodded and looked around.

The dark Hylian hadn't noticed Link leaving from his side and it bit freaked him out. _"Don't leave me alone, Link!"_ Dark thought but calmed down when he noticed the Hero not too far from him. Zelda smiled when she noticed Dark looking towards them and nudged Link slightly while nodding towards Dark.

The Hero turned around and smiled. He hadn't been meaning to leave Dark fully out of his sight and especially not form his mind but Zelda had caught him into a conversation. Link turned to Zelda with slightly hopeful look on his eyes. The princess sighed but nodded. The smile returned to Link's face and he walked to Dark's side.

"Sorry 'bout that." The Hero stated straight off. Dark grinned a bit and chuckled. He shook his head while looking around how the crowd was slowly going back inside.

"Nah, no worries with that." The dark Hylian replied. "So, what's next on the line?" He continued with lot quieter voice. Link grinned a bit.

"Now people are going to gather their stuff and head back home. Few stays over the night and leave early tomorrow morning." The Hero explained casually. Dark nodded while following Link inside. "Though, we're going to wait here and say farewell to those who leave." He continued while stopping by the main door.

Zelda came to them and stopped right beside Link. She just nodded to Dark but didn't say anything. The dark Hylian had a feeling that he was one person too much at there. The princess took once a deep breath and turned to look at Dark. "I think you could stay with us. Many of the ladies would love to say goodbye to you." She said and Dark just nodded since he really was at loss of words.

It didn't take long before the first ones came back down with their things. They shook hands with Zelda first and then with Link. Since Dark was mainly a visitor as much as they were, he only got a nod. And Dark answered to it with a smile.

As time went by and more people started to come down, there started to be ladies whom Dark had danced with. They were eager to shake hands with Dark and tell that they truly hoped to see him again at next year. Dark replied that he'd try but didn't really give any promises.

Once everyone who was going to leave had left, Link sighed in relief and relaxed. "I'll leave you two alone for now." Zelda said while leaving the place towards her own room. Link just nodded and stretched a bit. After that he turned to face Dark.

"So... Um... You gonna stay over the night or...?" The Hero asked bit hesitantly and looked slightly sadly at Dark.

"Well..." Dark started and fought to keep his grin off of his face. "I could stay over the night, I think." He continued. _"Damn... Why the heck I'm playing off with him?"_ The dark Hylian thought bit sadly while following Link back to the Hero's room.

Once inside and the door closed behind them, Dark went straight to the bed. "No need of going out of the room for today anymore?" He asked bit worriedly. Link chuckled slightly.

"No worries on that part. And we don't need to face the ones who are staying over the night either. They'll leave early in the morning and don't expect me or Zelda to be saying goodbye." Link replied and noticed then Dark's own clothes on a small chair next to the door. "And seems like Zelda has got someone to bring your clothes here." He continued while throwing the black tunic and hat to Dark.

Dark was startled but managed to catch the clothes. "Nice~. I was wondering where I could find them later on." He replied but frowned then. "Except that I do have a hole in them..." The dark Hylian muttered while putting the clothes next to the bed.

"Well, I could see if someone would be up and about to fix them for you." Link replied while coming to sit to the bed. "Um... We didn't have a chance to talk at the Ball and, well, you seemed to be having something important to tell me..." The Hero continued and got slightly worried and nervous about the topic.

"So, free to talk?" Dark asked while leaning backwards to the bed and eventually laying down. "Oh, and by the way, your bed is seriously soft. I kind a like it." He continued with slight smile, sighed happily and closed his eyes.

Link chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, you got rights to speak. I doubt anyone is willing to listen. And, thanks, I guess. You're free to share the bed with me. It's big enough for two." He replied smiling.

Dark took once a deep breath and stretched a bit before opening his eyes. _"Should I tell him straight off or still keep it?"_ He thought while sitting back up. _"Besides I know what he'll do once I tell him..."_ The dark Hylian continued and sighed then while turning his gaze to the floor.

Link waited for a while but soon he couldn't take it anymore. "Dark." He called and got the darker Hylian to look at him. "First of all I want to say that I'm really proud of you for how you handled things out back at the Ball. And not just that but also how you got the girls—" The Hero started but Dark interrupted him right there and then.

"Ladies, Link, ladies." He said grinning. Link was bit startled but deadpanned then.

"Right. Ladies." The Hero replied and chuckled then. "Where the heck you've learned to talk so well to gir—, I mean to ladies?" Link asked straight off. _"Not exactly the way I was meaning it to go but who cares."_ He thought while waiting for Dark's reply.

Dark laughed a bit, put his hands behind him on the bed and leaned slightly backwards while looking upwards. "Oh, if you just knew." He replied grinning.

"So, you're not going to answer, huh?" Link asked bit disappointed. Dark chuckled and shook his head.

"Did I say anything about not telling you?" The darker Hylian asked grinning. Link facepalmed which only got Dark to laugh even harder.

"You really love to ridicule me, huh?" The Hero asked smiling but the words hit hard to the darker Hylian.

"Wha-What?!" Dark half shouted in pure shock. "That's not what I was meaning!" He continued straight off in half panic. "I'm sorry if I hurt you! I really didn't meant to do that!" The darker Hylian continued, closed his eyes and turned his head away from Link.

Link was shocked. He looked startled at Dark and what worried him even more was the fact that the darker Hylian was bit shaking. "Dark?" The Hero called worriedly.

Dark turned around. He was fully crying. "I'm sorry, Link. I really am." He whispered desperately. Link sighed, shook his head and hugged the darker Hylian.

"Ssh, it's okay. I didn't mean to hurt you, Dark." Link whispered quietly while holding tightly to Dark. "I was just teasing you. You shouldn't take everything so hard." He continued, pulled off and smiled bit sadly while brushing off few tears. "I really wasn't meaning anything bad, Dark. Honest." The Hero continued.

Dark just nodded. He took once a shaky deep breath while calming himself down. "You okay, Dark?" Link asked still bit worriedly. The darker Hylian nodded and gave a small sad smile.

"Yeah, I think I am." He replied bit quietly. He stayed quiet for a while and Link was getting worried. He didn't know how he could confirm to Dark that he hadn't meant anything bad and that he really was sorry if he had hurt Dark. "Um..." The darker Hylian started and took once a deep breath. "I don't know if you knew this but... Well... I spent few days at Gerudo Fortress and..." Dark started while trying to find the right words.

"Yeah, I know. I visited there today. Unfortunately they didn't really give much of info other than that you're okay, left early and that they don't know where you went to." Link answered with a nod. "I was going to come to Lake Hylia but Knight Ryan came right then and after that I didn't have a chance." He continued sadly.

"It's okay, Link, really. I don't mind." Dark replied with a slight shrug. "Besides, I do have something important to say..." He continued but trailed off after a while.

Link sighed. "You're going to leave Hyrule, right?" He asked quietly and dropped his gaze into the floor. _"But it doesn't fit with the way he started things out with our first meeting at the Ball..."_ Link thought bit confused. His confusion only increased when Dark laughed.

"Leave Hyrule? Why the heck I would do that?" The dark Hylian asked while shaking his head. "This place is as much of my home as it is yours." He continued confidently.

"But that what you told to..." Link started bit confused.

"And you just told not to take things so seriously." Dark replied and shook his head. "I _lied_ to that guy!" He continued and slowly a grin started to form into his lips. "That idiot really needed to be shown his place! I was _glad_ to outtalk him! Hell, he even _begged_ to show what an asshole he is! I mean, come on! Now he's going to be the topic of every kingdom for at least till next Christmas." The dark Hylian continued and started to laugh. "You really don't know how much I _wanted_ to outtalk him. Man, he gave me such a chance!"

Link stared at Dark for long while. _"What... The... Heck...?"_ He thought and shook his head then. "You... You didn't..." The Hero started still in shock.

Dark's laugh started to calm down into a chuckle. "Nah, _I_ didn't start anything. _He_ came to _me_, Link. I didn't do anything to gain his notion." He stated and raises his hands for surrender. "I swear." The dark Hylian said as firmly as he could.

Link sighed and nodded. Soon he was smiling. "I'm actually glad that you did outtalk him. You seriously made one hell of a first impression at there. Something that they never forget." The Hero stated and chuckled a bit. "I really am proud of you, Dark. In matter of several hours you've gotten lots of fans outside Hyrule. They're bound to come back next year just in hopes of seeing _you_ again." He continued smiling.

Dark chuckled. "I did my best." He replied grinning but soon his expression darkened a bit but the grin stayed on his face. "Oh, how I _wait_ for the next meeting with that guy. I'm so going to strike him down." Dark continued.

Link was startled. "Uh, Dark. That guy is the best knight of his kingdom. Don't get me wrong, you're amazing with sword too but... Just don't underestimate him." He warned bit worriedly.

"You think I can't take him on?" Dark asked bit hurt and slightly angry. _"Doesn't he trust my sword skills at all? Even though I'm learning to these feelings, I doubt I would've lost the skills I had..."_ He thought while bit frowning.

"That's not what I said, Dark!" Link half shouted and sighed. "I just mean that with you now being actually _alive_, it brings up the problem of stamina. You need to get your strength up and two months is quite a short time in over all." He explained as well as he could.

"Stamina?" Dark asked bit confused. Link sighed and facepalmed.

"Exactly what I'm meaning, Dark." He muttered and shook his head.

"Well, excuse me for not knowing! I haven't heard of these things before!" Dark half shouted and turned his back to Link in anger. _"I don't know if I did the right choice anymore. There's too much of new things and he's not even helping. Maybe this was a bad idea in over all..."_ He thought and fought back against the tears. _"This is all so confusing and it scares me... Why can't he see that I need his help and..."_

Link sighed and shook his head. _"He's crying again. Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut and concentrate to the good things. At least he's not leaving... Yeah, not leaving Hyrule but me, the castle... I don't know."_ The Hero thought sadly and moved to hug Dark from behind. "It's okay, Dark. I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you and I'm doing my best to help you." Link whispered quietly but Dark didn't answer.

Link sighed again but didn't let go of Dark. "Com one, Dark. Let's just leave the this topic for a while. You had something important to tell me. So, what is it?" He asked hoping to change the topic enough to get the darker Hylian to calm down again.

"It... It doesn't matter anymore..." Dark eventually replied with shaking voice. _"Oh, why the hell I did come here? I should've just stayed at that house... And kept on living the way I had for a long while... I really did do a mistake. A mistake I can't take back..."_

"Dark, please." Link whispered desperately. "Please, let me help you." He pleaded quietly. _"What am I supposed to do or say? Should I leave him alone or stay here and hold him? At least he's not pushing me away. But did I say or do something wrong?"_ The Hero thought desperately while trying to find answers. "Dark, come on, please, don't cry. I'm sorry if I said something wrong. Please..." Link begged.

_"Why can't he leave me alone?! I'm not worth of his time and especially not for his friendship!"_ Dark thought. He stood up and pulled off of the hug. The dark Hylian walked to the window, leaned against the wall and looked outside while still having his back turned to Link. "Why do you care, Link? Why do you care about someone who was your enemy and could still turn against you?" Dark eventually asked with quiet and bit cold voice.

"Dark?" Link asked startled and shocked. It had already surprised him when the darker Hylian left from his hold. The Hero sighed and walked in front of Dark and leaned against the other side of the window so they were facing each other. "Because you're my friend, Dark. My brother in reality." Link stated as firmly as he could. "I'm here to help you, Dark, but I can't do much if you turn your back to me. Tell me what's wrong so I can do something about it."

Dark sighed and kept his eyes on the landscape. He had crossed his arms over his chest a while ago and he didn't glance at Link at all. "But why, Link? Why?" The darker Hylian just asked quietly.

Link shrugged. "Because I never gave you a chance in the first time we met. Because you proved to be lot more than an enemy and because I learned to trust and care for you. Because it makes me happy to see you smiling and laughing. Because I never had a brother and you're the closest one to brother I have. Because I love you."

The last sentence got Dark to widen his eyes and jump in shock. "Wha-What?" He asked and looked straight at Link. "I thought you love Zelda! And... I..." The dark Hylian continued and backed off in full panic and fear.

Dark's reaction was a total shock to Link. It took a while before the reason for the reaction came to him and on that second the Hero facepalmed. "Shit." He muttered but chuckled then. "For the love of Farore..." Link muttered, took a deep breath and looked at Dark. "What I meant was not the way it came out." He stated.

Dark had backed to the bed and with slight yelp fallen down to it. He still stared at Link in pure shock and fear. Link kept the distance and crossed his arms over his chest. "The love I have for Zelda is totally different compared to what I have for you. The love I meant is platonic." The Hero started but Dark was only even more confused. "I doubt you know what _platonic_ means, huh?" Link continued and the look on Dark's face was clearly read to be meaning _And that means?_.

"Okay, um..." Link started to think but he didn't really have any of idea how to explain it. Suddenly Zelda burst straight into Link's room and startled both Link and Dark.

"Link, you'd better hear this out!" She half shouted and looked straight at Dark. "You really are gathering one hell of a impression of yourself, Dark." Zelda continued bit angrily. Link narrowed his eyes and went to stand right between the princess and Dark.

"Just state what you mean, princess." Link stated as firmly as he could. Zelda started to grin.

"There is a rumor going on at the market place about a dark Hylian." She started. Dark gulped but Link just waited for her to continue. Suddenly Zelda started to laugh. It shocked both of the guys in the room. "I don't know how you've done it, Dark, but you truly have gotten the children to look up to you." The princess said with a smile on her face.

Link was confused and Dark just dropped his gaze to ground. "It is nothing to be ashamed of. You should be proud of yourself." Zelda continued happily. "The thing is that kids are telling that Dark saved one of them from certain death. The child had been playing on an icy railing and fallen. Dark caught him." She explained really fast.

Link was startled. He turned towards Dark in bit of shock. "Is it true?" He asked quietly and Dark just nodded.

"Anyone could've done it!" Dark replied in desperation. Zelda started to laugh again and even Link grinned. _"Oh, what have I done?!"_ The dark Hylian thought in slight panic.

"Saving one's child is one of the best things to be done, Dark." Link said grinning widely. "You got the appreciation of the family and admiration of the kids. I doubt there is any of better way of getting people to accept you fully." He continued calmly.

Dark was confused. He raised his gaze back up. "So..?" The dark Hylian asked confused. Zelda did a small curtsey.

"Thank you for saving a child's life, Dark. There is really few other deeds that could get such a notion from the kingdom." The princess said smiling. "Now, I need to go back to my duties." She continued and left the room.

Link's grin didn't vanish but just widened a bit. "So, I think you got a good idea of what mother's love is to a child, right?" He asked after a while. Dark gave a small nod but was still confused. "Well, then the love I talked is fully equal with the love of mother to a child." The Hero continued carefully. "Meaning, that I gladly look after you and keep you safe. And, well, I kinda feel like big brother..." Link continued with slight chuckle.

Dark was quiet but he had a slight frown while thinking it out. Eventually he sighed in slight relief and relaxed a bit. _"So, this far I haven't done anything wrong. And Link still cares for me... More than for a normal friend, I guess... But..."_ The dark Hylian sighed again but this time in slight sadness. _"The past six years have to mean something. As well as all the talk and fun we've had... Fun... That's kinda a new thing and yet old... Maybe this isn't so bad after all..."_ Dark just let his thoughts fly and slightly smiled with the last thoughts.

Link still stood there waiting carefully and bit scared for Dark's reply. Things had gone so well so far and then suddenly when they eventually had a chance to talk everything was collapsing. _"Why the heck I have to say something stupid things and ruin it all? I should've just kept my mouth shut and let Dark tell what he had in his mind. And now..."_ The Hero sighed quietly but kept waiting. He gave a small smile when he noticed that Dark started to smile too. _"I hope he can come to right kind of conclusion... I just can't lose him! I CAN'T!"_

The silence continued on and it started to worry Link whole time more. _"Just keep your stupid mouth shut and don't interrupt him! Let him think it out thoroughly. That's what you haven't given him a chance! To think. To come into a conclusion. That's what he asked for and I..."_ Link sighed again and looked around before eventually walking to sit down to the windowsill. _"I never let him really think it out. _I _put him through all this. _I'm _the fault of his confusion and fear... I care about him so much but... I just haven't given him the time he needs..."_ The Hero closed his eyes, sat fully into the cold windowsill, pulled his knees close to his chest and hid his face while starting to cry.

Dark raised his gaze up just a while after Link started to cry. It took him a while before he realized what he actually was seeing. _"Link? Oh, goddesses, am I the fault he's crying?"_ He thought in shock. "Li-Link?" The dark Hylian asked bit scared.

The Hero raised his gaze up but stayed quiet while waiting for Dark to continue. The darker Hylian watched in shock at always so strong willed and brave Hero of Hyrule break down. Dark gulped once to keep his voice firm. "Are you crying because of me?" He eventually asked quietly.

"No... It's not the way you think." Link replied quietly and sighed then. "It's just the fact that I never gave you time to think about everything. About feelings. About living at here... About anything at all." He started, took a deep breath and continued: "I just care about you so much and, I, well... I just never gave you chance to get used to everything..."

The Hero quieted down and dropped his gaze to floor. "I just wanted you to be happy." Link eventually whispered, blinked few times to keep the tears at bay but wasn't successful. When the tears started to fall, he closed his eyes. "I... I just..." He whispered but couldn't find the words anymore.

Dark stared at Link for a long while. _"I _did_ think it all out. I made my choice and I'm going to live with it... And I know what I'm supposed to do."_ He thought and with last sentence he grinned and stood up. The darker Hylian took the few steps that was between the windowsill and the bed. "Link." Dark called and the Hero was bit surprised to see Dark so close to him. Before Link had a chance to realize even one thing, Dark already hugged him. Link gasped in bit of shock but circled his arms around the darker Hylian real fast.

"I'm sorry I pulled it into this, Link, I really am." Dark whispered quietly and took then a deep breath. Link was ready to answer but he didn't have a chance. "The thing that I've been trying to get out of my mouth, is, that... I was thinking about staying here for couple of weeks, if that's okay." He continued bit worriedly.

"What?" Link asked shocked and pulled free from the hug to see Dark's face. The darker Hylian was bit startled and worried about the reaction he had gotten from Link. The Hero looked at Dark for a long while before his face brightened. "THAT'S AMAZING NEWS, DARK!" Link shouted and jumped straight off to hug Dark.

The whole thing startled Dark really badly and it took a while from him to hug Link back. "So... It's okay that I stay?" He asked bit worriedly.

Link nodded eagerly. "Absolutely! You really don't know how happy that makes me!" He replied with enthusiasm. _"This is the best news I've ever got! Thank You!"_ The Hero thought happily and eventually they pulled apart.

Dark was bit nervous and didn't fully know what say or do at that point. Link dried the tears and sat back down to the windowsill with a happy smile on his face. "You okay, Dark?" He asked bit worriedly.

Dark sighed and sat down next to Link on the windowsill. He leaned his back to the cold window and closed his eyes. "I'm not thoroughly sure, Link." The dark Hylian replied with slight shrug. "I thought I'd be happier but..." He continued, sighed bit sadly and opened his eyes to stare at the floor. "Guess this day's just been so... Full of life, I guess..." Dark stated and chuckled a bit. "I'm just confused... Maybe... Argh! I don't know!" He stated and closed his eyes frustrated.

Link circled his other arm over Dark's shoulders and pulled him close to himself. "It's okay. Today really has been a long day. How about we'd get some rest? Maybe things would be brighter tomorrow?" He suggested and just got slight nod from the darker Hylian. "Okay, you can go and wash up first. I get the bed ready on that time." The Hero continued and Dark nodded again before taking once a deep breath and standing up.

Dark chose another red tunic before going to wash up. Link walked to the bed and took the bed sheet off of it and put it to close by chair. After that he returned to the windowsill and fell back to his thoughts. _"I just gotta make sure he'll be happy in here... But how am I going to get that done? If it wasn't for that darn idiot Argan things would've gone better between us. He really messed things up... But then again, he wasn't here when we started to talk..."_ Link sighed and closed his eyes sadly.

"Link?" Dark called once he came out of the washing area. The Hero of Hyrule screamed a bit out of surprise and nearly fell from the window. "Oh, shit! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" The darker Hylian shouted and tried to get to Link to help him but luckily the Hero had managed to catch himself in time.

"Nah, it's not your fault. I just didn't notice that you were already coming." Link replied with slight chuckle. Dark gave a small smile and nodded. "So, um... You can get to the bed already. I just wash up and join you soon." He continued smiling.

"Okay." Dark replied and went to sit on the bed. Link gave him one more smile before going to wash up. The darker Hylian sighed and lay down on the bed. _"I really like this bed... It's soft..."_ He thought with slight smile, went underneath the blanket and chose his side while closing his eyes.

By the time Link came back from washing up, Dark had fallen asleep. The Hero smiled, checked the room so that the door was locked and the windows well closed before going to the bed. Suddenly Dark shot up on the bed. "Shit! I forgot something!" He half shouted in bit of panic.

"Hey, calm down! Can't it wait till tomorrow?" Link replied bit startled. Dark was feeling bit off and shook his head. The Hero sighed but nodded. "Okay, let's go and check it out, then." He replied and sat up. "So, where to?"

"The stables." Dark replied bit hesitantly. Link nodded and put his shoes back on. Dark followed him and they exited the room. The Hero showed the way and the darker Hylian just followed bit ashamed about the situation.

The hallways were empty and quiet so no-one was to bother them. Link opened the door to the stables and Dark snuck in while heading straight to the place where he left Storm. The horses were already asleep but Storm rose his head a bit when Dark came close. "Sorry, it's just me." He whispered and pulled out the backpack he had left there.

Link stayed at the door and waited for Dark to come back. "I just forgot this." The darker Hylian replied ashamed. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal or anything... I—" Dark started to explain but Link shook his head and raised one hand to stop Dark from talking more.

"You didn't _steal_, Dark. You borrowed it. Fair and square." Link stated with a smile and a nod. "Now, come one, time to sleep." He continued and started to head back to _their_ room. Dark smiled and followed eagerly.

"We can empty the backpack tomorrow but now it's time to sleep." Link said, took the boots off and went straight to bed. Dark dropped the back close to the door and followed Link. "Goodnight, Dark." Link called once the darker Hylian had found a good position on the bed.

"Goodnight, Link." Dark replied, yawned a bit and fell quite soon asleep.

-.-.-.-

The talk between Link and Dark really didn't go as I expected. -.-' They were **not** meant to cry and fight. The story just changed a lot while I went forward. Darn it. But, whoa, the longest chapter so far! XD

Oh, and Dark just wasn't feeling like cooperating and he was bit grumpy. Link wasn't much of help either...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE WHO READ THIS FAR!**

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

I**N CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED:** I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!  
**So, in short:** Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.  
There is **no deadline** for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)  
**NOTE!** Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (can be found on my profile page) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Christmas is coming and I'm trying my best to update this on daily basis. THIS IS **NOT **LINK x DARK LINK!

Aslo, I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

CHRISTMAS AT HYRULE

CHAPTER 25

_"It's been _six years!_ What are you waiting for? You're having a great chance! Use it!"_

_"Leave me alone! Can't you understand that I turned my back to you long ago?!"_

_"You fool! You will regret your choice, _shadow_!"_

Dark woke up half screaming. He rose to all four and panted heavily. "Dark!" Link shouted and sat up on the bed. "Are you alright? What happened?" He asked worriedly. The darker Hylian calmed down slowly and shook his head.

"Ah, it's nothing. Just a bad dream... Heh, first one so far." He replied bit grinning. Link sighed in relief.

"You want to talk about it?" The Hero asked still bit worriedly. Dark shook his head.

"Nah, it's already starting to fade from my memory." The darker Hylian replied with slight nervous chuckle. Link nodded and without thinking gave him a fast hug.

"You gonna be okay, Dark. It takes a while to get used to the dreaming part but usually they're good. Besides, I know what could calm you down better." Link said grinning. "Come on, I know it's early but sneaking around castle is always fun." He continued and jumped off from the bed.

Dark chuckled and followed Link quite eagerly. _"Anything's better than to think about that conversation... Shit, I really gotta keep my defense up better."_ He thought and pushed the conversation far into the back of his mind.

The two Hylians got quite nicely past most of the way but during one hallway Link turned around, pushed Dark against the closest wall and put his hand over the darker Hylian's mouth. The move shocked Dark really badly but he soon realized the reason for the action.

"Now, do we have all with us, dear?" Came a female voice.

"Yes, madam, everything is packed and ready." Was the reply of a male voice.

"Good. Then we shall leave. I just hope we could've seen Princess Zelda and Knight Link... And even that darker guy...What was his name again?... Oh, Knight Dark!" The woman said happily.

"True but this is the custom, madam. And Knight Dark truly had a way with his words. I have never seen anyone outtalk knight Argan like that. Excellent work from him." The male replied eagerly.

The woman laughed but the two Hylians didn't hear their words anymore. Link sighed in relief and pulled off. "Sorry but I'm not eager to meet with any of the guests." He said bit apolitically.

Dark grinned and nodded. "I think I can understand what you mean." He replied. Link smiled happily.

"Good. Now, come one. We'd better hurry before we _do_ crash up with someone." He stated and started to guide Dark forward on the hallways.

Soon the duo entered empty kitchen. "Just take whatever you want, Dark. Kitchen is in these few days fully open to everyone and anyone." Link explained while going to get two plates and glasses from the cabinet. Dark looked around the room while Link gathered the needed items for eating.

"Can I ask one thing?" Dark questioned bit worriedly and Link nodded for an answer. "You are going to inform me about my food? There isn't yet much that I know of." He continued bit ashamed. Link's smile widened.

"Of course I'll fill you in. And besides, as you have noticed, there is lot of more food than just simple sandwiches." The Hero said grinning and started to get some foods out. Dark followed him, asked from time to time and tasted nearly all that there was for food.

The two Hylians had lot of fun while eating. Dark got new foods for his knowledge and new words with a meaning. They talked a bit without much of topic and once they were ready, they cleaned the kitchen and left back towards their room.

"You lead, Dark, and I'll follow. It would be good idea if you'd learn your way around too." Link said and let Dark take the lead. "And don't worry about going wrong way. It is just a way of learning." He continued and the darker Hylian nodded before starting to try and recall the way back to their room.

Suddenly, at one dark corner, Link pulled Dark backwards and put his hand over the darker Hylian's mouth. The move shocked Dark once again but this time he had a good reason for it. An elderly woman walked right past them and talked quietly to the Hylian knight who had been ordered to look after her wishes. Once they had gone past, both Link and Dark sighed in relief. Right after that they both chuckled a bit.

"As you probably already figured out, you had right way but I'm still not eager to talk with them." Link said with a grin.

"I kinda guessed the second part but not that of much of the first one." Dark replied with slight shrug but he had a happy grin on his face.

"Well, I'm not going to pull you like that if you choose a wrong way." Link replied smiling and nodded towards the way they were going. "Just keep on going, Dark, you really had the right way." He continued and Dark nodded before heading back to the way they were going.

It took Dark only two wrong turns to get back to their room. Once at there, Dark went again straight to sit to the bed. Link grinned a bit. "You really like that bed, huh?" He asked and chuckled a bit.

Dark just shrugged. "It's the softest thing I've ever felt." He replied with a grin. Link laughed and shook his head.

"Nice to know my bed's the softest thing in your life." The Hero said grinning. Dark didn't think about what he was doing when he put out his tongue at him. That only got Link to laugh even more. He really had few selected words up and about on his tongue but kept his mouth shut. _"He's such a child. But, if I say that... I might just hurt him again."_ He thought bit sadly.

"Okay, so how about we undo the backpack?" Link eventually asked and turned to look at the backpack on the floor. Dark stood up and walked to the said pack. Together they started to take clothes and food as well as other things out of there and search for right place for them. Link did bit of more room into his drawer, cabinet and chest for Dark's things.

Once the work was done they both sighed in relief. "I think I gotta check the drawer and cabinet later on better to really look for room for your clothes too." Link eventually said while sitting down to the bed. Dark just shrugged and followed him to the bed.

"I don't know, Link. I doubt I'm going to be having much of stuff anyways." The darker Hylian replied bit sadly. Link chuckled.

"Oh, come on, Dark! You need change of clothes, at least!" He stated. "And room for those. Not to mention then your sword and shield plus other things of yours. The least we'll do is to get a chest for ya." Link continued grinning.

Dark shrugged. "I'm still not sure about it, Link." He replied hesitantly. "I mean that I might not stay longer than the two weeks... I just..." The dark Hylian started but shut his mouth on the second he noticed the bit sad look on the Hero's face. "Sorry for bringing it up..." Dark eventually muttered.

Link sighed and shook his head. "Nah, it's no big deal." He replied and shrugged. "How about we'd change clothes, clean the room and leave outside for a while?" The Hero suggested while wishing to change the topic once again.

Dark nodded. "Sounds like a good idea..." He replied and took the yesterday's red tunic up. Link just nodded and started to do the bed.

_"I just can't keep my mouth shut, huh?"_ Dark thought bit grimly while washing up. _"I just should enjoy the time I have and not think about the future..."_ He continued sighing.

Link handled the bed easily and started to clean the room from clothes and other things. _"Just calm down. You got two weeks with him! Enjoy the time and don't worry about the future."_ He thought while trying his hardest to hold on to the happiness. _"I just hope it won't be like this whole time... We had it better before..."_ Link sighed and leaned backwards against the table. "Why can't we go back to what we had?" He mumbled.

"Because I'm not a shadow anymore." Came the bit sad reply. Link shouted in shock and jumped a bit while turning around.

"Gah! You seem to have good trick of scaring me." The Hero said and chuckled then. "Really, how the heck you can sneak around like that?" He asked grinning while trying his hardest to ignore Dark's reply. The darker Hylian just shrugged.

"You seem to be really out of noticing anything whenever I come to the room." Dark replied and sighed then. "I'm not a shadow anymore, Link. That's the main reason we can't go back to what we had. And I have been alive for how long? About two weeks? So, I'm just learning and... I get confused and frustrated and..." He started, sighed then and shook his head. "I'm not even sure if this was a good idea anymore..." The darker Hylian mumbled sadly.

"Hey, Dark..." Link started and walked to the darker Hylian. "I'm here, okay? I'm eager to help on any possible way I can. Just calm down and give it some time. It'll be alright with time, I'm sure of it." He continued and hugged Dark. "You're not alone."

Dark sighed sadly but nodded. "I guess." He replied and shrugged. "Oh, yesterday you asked where I learned to talk the way I did and dance..." The darker Hylian started and Link pulled off a bit to look at him. "It was at Gerudo Fortress. I kinda was stuck in there for couple of days and they taught me." He continued with slight shrug.

"Nice~. You got better teacher than me, then." Link said with slight grin.

"I did hope you could've taught me but, well..." Dark started but trailed off. _"And those two aren't even all they taught me..."_ He thought, shook his head and grinned a bit. "So, your turn to wash up, Link." Dark stated and pulled off of the hug.

Link huffed a bit. "I was having a nice place there, you know." He said grinning but shrugged then. "But, I guess you're right. I'll be right back then." The Hero continued and went to wash up to change clothes.

Dark walked to the table and sat down. _"I did this for him but I don't think I ever thought what it would mean to me. And yesterday... We had... Well, I guess it is a fight. Yeah, first real fight. Not that it would've been first in my whole life but first in the lifetime that I've actually _felt_ something. And it still hurts."_ He thought, sighed and started to trace a small rounds on the table while waiting for Link. _"There's so little that I do know. And... Is Link even willing to teach me? I mean that... Our current state..."_

"Dark?" Link called bit worriedly. The darker Hylian was bit startled but he turned around quite fast. "What's in your mind?" The Hero continued and walked to the table. Dark sighed.

"Everything and yet nothing." He replied. Link grinned.

"Care to explain?" He asked and pulled a chair for himself. Dark just shrugged. "Oh, come on, Dark! If you don't explain, how am I supposed to be able to help you? You need to let me in." Link stated, sighed and shook his head. _"So good start for the day and now this... Why is life so freaking hard?"_

"I guess I'm... I'm just confused and bit scared, I guess." Dark eventually replied and shrugged. "Things were easier before and now... It's all so confusing. And hard." He continued bit exaggerated. "I don't know if I can take it!" The dark Hylian half shouted while fighting back against the tears and the small lump in his throat.

Link was fast to hug him. "Just calm down. Life's never easy. If someone should know, then it's me." He said as calmly as he could. "And I'm here to guide and help you as well as I can. I won't leave you on your own, Dark, I promise." The Hero continued.

"If I just had known..." Dark whispered quietly. Link sighed.

"If you knew, you wouldn't have chosen for this life. Is that what you're trying to say?" The Hero asked quietly. Dark fell silent. Link sighed again but tightened slightly the hug. "How am I going to prove you that I'll stand by you whole time? That I won't let you fall into pieces." Link asked desperately. "Please, Dark, _please_, let me help."

"But how?" Dark questioned quietly with slightly shaking voice.

Link sighed and pulled off. "I think I got few ideas." He replied with slight grin on his face. Dark frowned a bit. "Come on." The Hero continued and pulled Dark up from the table. He led the darker Hylian out of the room, through the hallways and out through a back door.

Once there he walked further on, bowed down to gather some snow and kept on walking while knowing well enough that Dark would follow him. After a while the Hero turned around and threw the snowball at Dark. The darker Hylian was startled but Link was grinning and creating another snowball again. "How about a match of snowball fight?" The Hero asked carefully.

Dark brushed the snow off and nodded while taking some snow too. "Fine." He replied and avoided the next oncoming snowball. Link chuckled and started to do a third one. Dark threw his own but missed his target.

Real soon they were throwing snowballs at each other. Some hit and some missed but they were having fun none the less. _"At least I can get his mind to somewhere else than into the hard questions about life."_ Link thought happily. _"I just gotta teach him to lighten up a bit. Life's not so hard if you concentrate into the good of it."_ He continued while trying to avoid flying snowball. It hit anyways to his left arm. Link chuckled a bit while doing his own attack. _"At least he's having fun now and gaining accuracy quite well."_

Dark was truly having fun. Avoiding, doing snowballs and throwing them was new and bit exciting. Sure, he had had one snowball fight before but that was long before he was actually _alive_. Now he truly felt the fun of the game.

Neither noticed princess Zelda who was watching the duo from the second floor window. She was smiling a bit while watching how happy Link was with the darker Hylian. Zelda still wasn't sure what to think about Dark but she was slowly accepting him. The sudden knock on the door startled her and forced her to take her eyes off of the two Hylians. "Come in!" She called.

The seamstress came in with a package in her hands. "The work is done." She replied, did a curtsey, left the package to close by chair and left. Zelda said her thanks before the elderly woman left the room. The princess walked to the package and sighed. She truly wasn't fully sure about what she was doing but hoped it to be worthy idea.

Link and Dark returned back inside once they were starting to feel bit cold. Both were smiling and bit laughing. The thoughts were still in Dark's mind but he pushed them to the far end of his mind and decided to concentrate to them later on. He wanted to keep on feeling the happiness and not the sadness, fear and confusion that were mostly present. _"But I gotta think them out someday... But today's not the day."_ Dark decided and kept the smile on his face.

Link led Dark to their room. On the second Dark entered the room he did notice that something was fully different. There was another chest right next to the earlier one. "I got that for you, Dark." Link said with a slight smile on his face. "I know it's not much but at least it is a start." He continued with a shrug.

Dark stared at the equally decorated chest in both awe and shock. "For me?" He asked quietly. Link nodded since he wasn't fully sure anymore if he had actually done the right thing in the end. "Thank you!" Dark shouted, turned around and hugged Link. _"My own chest. My very own chest! I haven't really _owned_ anything before besides my clothes, sword and shield. That's all I've ever had."_

"We'll just have to find some stuff for you to fill that chest, won't we?" Link replied grinning once they pulled off. Dark nodded eagerly. "I'm glad you like the chest, Dark." He continued smiling.

Suddenly Dark's happiness dimmed a bit. "But... I don't have anything for you..." He whispered sadly. Link chuckled.

"You already gave me the best present you can give." He said smiling. Dark was fully confused which only increased Link's smile. "You gave me your word that you'd at least stay here for the next two weeks. And I've been hoping for you stay at the castle for a long while already." The Hero explained.

Dark sighed. "But, that's not the same thing..." He mumbled sadly. Link hugged him straight off.

"For me it is." He stated as firmly as he could. "Just having you here as my brother is the best I could wish for." Link continued happily.

"You sure?" Dark questioned bit uncertain. Link nodded eagerly. "Thanks." The darker Hylian said and smiled a bit. _"He really wants me here."_ He thought happily. _"But can I call this place as _home_ yet? And what actually _is_ home? The place where one lives? If that is the case, then was the Water Temple my home? Or have I had already few place as a home?"_ He thought bit confused.

"Whatcha thinking, Dark?" Link asked bit worriedly since Dark was slightly frowning.

"What is _home_?" Dark questioned bit confused. Link blinked bit startled and thought for a while.

"Home is a place where one wants to live. Place which is surrounded by family and friends." The Hero replied. Dark nodded slowly while thinking out.

_"Link is so far my only friend _and_ family..."_ He thought carefully. _"Water Temple was just a place where I lived and waited for Link to come to there. I doubt that's home. And Gerudo Fortress... I spend few days at there and got few friends, or at least I hope I did. That's probably closest so far that I can call as a home. And that scientist's place... Well, it is not mine to start with so I guess that's out of counting. And so we come to here... Link lives here and he's asked me to come here too..."_ Dark sighed since he wasn't sure if he had actually come to any kind of conclusion yet. "What does home feel like?" He eventually asked bit confused.

"Like a place where you really want to stay at." Link replied straight off without hesitation. _"I hope you really _want_ to live in here, Dark..."_ He continued in his thoughts. Dark just nodded and thought it out.

_"I can't yet say anything but I guess after few days I'll know since I'll get better feeling to here."_ Dark thought and took a deep breath. "I guess I can't say for sure yet since I need to stay longer in here." He stated out with a shrug.

Link nodded smiling. _"At least he's not striking this place down without giving it a chance."_ He thought while feeling bit hopeful. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Come on in." Link called bit confused and gave a short shrug to Dark.

Zelda walked in and held something behind her. She was feeling bit nervous and her gaze went from Dark to Link and back to Dark. "I have something for you, Dark." The princess said and took the well packed package out of behind her.

Dark was surprised about the present but took it gladly. "Um... Thank you, princess." He replied while starting to open the papers. Link was fully eager to find out what Dark actually got.

From the package was found five black tunics and five caps. "I kinda had a feeling that you'd be needing those." Zelda said hesitantly. Both Dark and Link were bit shocked about the present but real soon the darker Hylian was smiling widely.

"Thank you, princess! This is cool!" Dark half shouted. _"Wow! I actually got something to put into _my_ chest!"_ He thought happily. Zelda smiled and nodded.

"You're welcome, Dark. Oh, and merry Christmas." She continued and was bit surprised when Dark's smile even widened a bit.

"Thank you! And merry Christmas to you too." He replied but the smile dropped quite soon. "I hate to say this but I really don't have anything for you..." Dark continued sadly.

Zelda smiled and shook her head. "You actually have already given me a present, Dark." She replied smiling. Dark frowned since he really had no idea what she was talking about. "The gift you've given me is Link's happiness. He truly cares about you and I don't think I've seen him smile that much for a long while." The princess explained happily.

Dark blushed a bit and nodded. _"Well, I guess that was enough of reasoning. I did do the right decision. There's no doubt of it anymore."_ He thought with a slight smile. "Thanks." The darker Hylian whispered and glanced at Link. _"At least we got mutual friend we want to see smiling and happy."_ He continued happily.

The rest of the day went past fast. Link and Dark mainly talked and went few times outside to have a match of snowball fight. They also did few snowmen. Out of Dark's request they did visit Storm and Epona too. At the end of the day, Dark fell asleep with a smile on his face as did Link.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just few things that came up while writing this:

1) Dark still was bit un-cooparative

2) Dark is not going crazy. -.-' The mystery voice shall get more notion later on and eventually as its own story part. ;)

3) Even though this is the last chapter for the story, the main story will continue later on with more stories. The first shall be at New Year and next sooner or later after that since there was bit of notion about a swordfight between knight Argan and Dark. =)

4) If no-one noticed with earlier chapter, there was no mistake while writing Knight and knight. I did it on purpose to show how little Argan is liked and how much Link is actually shown respect from others. It is kinda on the pronouncing the word with different amount of strenght. I hope I made it clear enough. ^^; Ask if you didn't understand what I'm trying to say.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE WHO READ THIS FAR!**

A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

I**N CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED:** I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!  
**So, in short:** Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.  
There is **no deadline** for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)  
**NOTE!** Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (can be found on my profile page) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!


End file.
